


The First Nightmare

by DTsimison



Series: The Nightmare [1]
Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Action, Drama, F/M, Humor, Survival Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:00:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 78,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29648910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DTsimison/pseuds/DTsimison
Summary: After being sucked into the world of Resident Evil, a fan leads his seven friends on a mission to save the doomed members of Bravo team. With three soldiers and one crazy cowgirl, what could possibly go wrong?
Series: The Nightmare [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2186181





	1. Beginning of a Nightmare

Author's note: This is it. The first chapter of my first RE story. Hope you like it. And I don't own RE. Capcom does. However, these eight new characters are mine. So, ask permission before using them for another story. Or be ready when a couple of Hunters come knocking down your door. Enjoy!

" " talking

_Thinking_

* * *

_Where on Earth am I?_ This thought belonged to a young man named Daniel. Green eyes scanned the area behind scratched lenses. Blonde hair peeked out from under a camouflaged patrol cap. As he turned around his combat boots broke a twig underneath their weight. Despite his age, he was wearing a military uniform complete with his last name 'Sims', a rank, and a velcro tag labeled 'U.S. Army.' Last thing he remembered, he was driving his car to drill. The sun was rising in the early morning transforming a black sky to a blue one, the weather was typical of an Alabama October, and everything was normal. Now, he was in the middle of a forest, the sun setting, painting the evening sky with a variety of colors, and he could not find anything remotely familiar. Only one thing was for sure. He wasn't in Alabama anymore. He checked himself and was relieved to find no injuries. He did a couple of equations in his head to make sure his intelligence hadn't been affected. Thankfully, everything was fine, except for the sudden change in location.

"Hello! Anybody out there?" Someone yelled. Daniel spun around. Well, at least he wasn't alone out here. Looks like help was already nearby, but something was off. The voice sounded awfully familiar. Daniel started walking towards the source. He soon found a young woman, and cleaned his glasses just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Unfortunately, there was no way it could be anybody else.

Even with her back facing him, there was no mistaking that cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and ponytail ensemble. At first, he was going to call out to her. But then a rare, mischievous idea hit him. Daniel tip-toed up to her, which was no easy feat considering his footwear. "Hey Jessica," He whispered.

"WOAH!" The girl yelled as she whirled around. And Daniel saw that he was right. It was Jessica. But what was she doing here? "Oooh! If it weren't for this effed-up situation, I'd kill you right now!" She roared angrily.

Daniel grinned. But his grin quickly vanished as the questions returned. "So, do you know where we are, or even how we got here?"

"No clue. I was hanging out with my friends when out of nowhere I found myself here. You? "

"No idea. I was driving to drill when it happened. Have you seen anybody else?"

Before Jessica could answer, someone called out. "Hello? Anybody there?" Somebody yelled. _They must have heard Jessica yelling._ Daniel and Jessica's hopes shot up. Maybe now they could get some help. Out of one direction came a group of three people. Almost simultaneously, more figures appeared from two different directions. Both new arrivals came alone. As they came closer, Daniel and Jessica’s's hopes quickly plummeted. Between the two of them, they recognized each person. In the first group was Tim, Katelyn, and Bruce. Tim and Katelyn were friends of Daniel, while Bruce was Tim's cousin. Tim was a short, black-haired guy who'd been in Daniel's business class and suffered from poor complexion. He was also a football player for their high school team. Katelyn was Tim's girlfriend. With brown hair and brown freckles, she was the quiet, nice girl among Daniel's friends. Bruce, unlike his cousin, was a tall, silent type gifted with brown hair and brown eyes.

In the second group by herself was Shantia, all ready for drill. Shantia was in the lead, her Army uniform causing her to stand out. Her black beret matched the dark color of both her hair and skin. Daniel had half-expected her to be wearing glasses instead of the contacts she was wearing.

By himself was Bart, who was also ready to go to work in the Army Reserve. The brown-haired, buck-toothed teenager glowered as his brown eyes focused on the others. His buzz cut hairdo was covered by a black beret displaying his unit's crest within a light blue shield. None of these people would be of any help; although, it was nice to see more familiar faces in this strange situation.

As soon as everyone was together, the jabbering began. Questions like "Where are we?" "How did we get here?" "Why are you here?" and so on were constantly thrown around by the confused youth. This kept going on, until Daniel took control of the conversation.

"Okay, obviously, we have quite a few problems here. First thing we should do is find out what we have at our disposal." Everyone began to empty out their pockets, wallets, and/or purses. The results: some money, snacks, cell phones, and two pocket knives. _Well, at least, we can contact somebody,_ Daniel thought. Aloud, he said, "Try and call anyone you know." The teens expertly put their cell phones to work. Soon, a chorus of groans was let loose. Unfortunately, not one cell phone had any service. _Guess we're too deep in the forest._

"Hey Jessica , could you climb one of those trees and tell us what you see?" She glared at him for a moment, resentful of him being authoritative, but did it anyway. She still grumbled to herself as she climbed it. Once she was at the top, she scanned their surroundings. "What do you see?" Daniel shouted upwards.

"There's a city that way about ten miles." She said, pointing to the direction behind them. Everyone began to cheer. Looks like they weren't that far from civilization.

"Anything else?"

"Umm...doesn't look like it. Wait, there's a big mansion that way. About a mile and a half." She pointed to their left. No one was really listening besides Daniel. Too happily chatting about what they were going to do when they reached the city. But Daniel had a weird feeling about the last bit of news. It sounded strangely familiar. _Oh well, doesn't really matter right now._

"You can come down now."

"How gracious of you! What? Did you think I was going to stay up here all night?" She sarcastically replied. Daniel ignored her. Back talk would only make things worse. After Jessica was down, the group got ready to head out. As they started walking, a weird, squishing noise came from behind them. Everyone froze as they tried to identify it.

"What was that?" Katelyn asked nervously. Her perturbed, nervous voice began to infect the others. Daniel himself didn't like the sound of it. But he was very curious to know what it was. And in the end, his curiosity was stronger than what little fear he had.

"I'll go check it out." Daniel offered. Instantly, he received several confused looks. The classic horror movie theme of a lone scout checking out a strange noise filled their thoughts. Said scout usually ended up dead. But this wasn't a horror movie...right? Jessica walked up to him.

"You know, as much as I would love to stick my nose into whatever's out there, why don't we just go? These kids need to get back to their parents." She jabbed her thumb at the rest of the group.

"Oh, come on. How bad it could be? If we're lucky, it's some random hitchhiker." Daniel reasoned.

"And if you're not lucky?" She countered.

"Then it's some forest animal. All I have to do is not piss it off."

"And why only you?"

Daniel dropped his voice. "Look at them. They're already unhinged by what just happened. I don't want anybody panicking and making things worse. I want you to stay with them, in case they do try something stupid."

"Fine. Just don't do anything stupid." She suddenly grinned. "Be careful. It might be a couple getting it on! We wouldn't want you to be scarred for life." Jessica warned. Daniel rolled his eyes and left.

Halfway there, he found a thick, sturdy branch. He picked it up and swung it around a few times. It would do as a temporary weapon. As he neared the spot, he heard this chewing noise. Daniel's instincts screamed for him to leave NOW! But his curiosity prevented him from running. At least until he figured out what it was. He soon cleared the trees and found the source of the noise. A person was kneeling next to an animal. The person appeared to be a hiker, evident from the backpack and clothing. The strange noise was coming from him…her? He couldn't discern gender from his viewpoint.

"Hello?" Daniel slowly asked. The figure stopped whatever it was doing. It slowly, inhumanly so, stood and turned around. Daniel nearly wet his pants right there and then. It didn't seem possible. It **shouldn't** be possible. But there was no mistaking what he saw. He had seen so many of them, in movies and in games. Right in front of him, was a real-live (or real-dead) zombie. The body's front had been mauled beyond recognition. He gagged as he could see rib bones protruding out of the chest. Something meaty was half-sunken in the torn flesh under the ribs. Daniel soon realized it was the zombie's heart. A small portion of the large intestine swung to and fro from a chewed-up hole. Its entire face was missing and only patches of hair were left on its bloody scalp. Behind it were the remains of a wolf. The zombie had been feasting on its head. An ungodly stench crashed into him. After enduring it for a few seconds, Daniel threw up. Afterwards, his mind blanked out from fear as the zombie let out a moan from somewhere in its neck and limped toward him. With his mind blank, his instincts kicked in. For every step it took toward him, Daniel took a step back.

If this had continued, they would have eventually reached the city. But no. As fate would have it, there was a small rock in their path. Daniel's focus was completely on the zombie. Subsequently, he tripped on the rock and fell to the ground. Luckily, the impact knocked his mind out of fear's grip. He quickly scrambled away from the zombie. Unfortunately when he fell, the zombie closed the short distance between them. Just as Daniel started to scramble out of the way, the zombie tripped on the same rock. When the zombie tripped, it fell forward and landed well within grabbing range of Daniel.

Although he tried to get away in time, he failed. It grabbed a hold of his boots. Despite his struggles, it slowly pulled his leg closer to its jaws. Just as it tried to bite him, Daniel whacked it with his only weapon. The zombie's head hit the ground, its grip loosened. Taking advantage of its weakness, Daniel pulled away from it. But it regained its strength and, again, pulled Daniel closer, hoping for fresh meat. Once again, as it was about to bite his leg, he whacked it with the branch. And, once again, as he tried to escape its clutches, it held fast. This process repeated several more times. Daniel began to tire from his efforts; whereas the zombie was unaffected. Realization hit him. At this rate, he would wear out and eventually be eaten. Fear and anxiety filled him.

Abruptly, his mood swung from fear and anxiety to anger and rage when the zombie went for another bite. "Bad [whack] zom- [whack] bie! [Whack!] People [whack!] are [whack!] not [whack!] food!" [WHACK!] He roared at it.

With the last strike, something unexpected happened. The branch, his only weapon, became lodged in its skull! Daniel tried to pull it out, but to no avail. Then he noticed that the zombie wasn't moving. A question entered his mind. _Did I just kill it with a stick?_ He slowly moved away from it. It didn't react. With glee, he started to crawl away from it, only to feel it grab him.

"OH FOR THE LOVE OF-," he shouted. It was only stunned. Before he could react, the zombie chomped onto his boot. Desperate, he struggled harder. It was at this moment that Daniel did what anyone in trouble does.

"Guys! A LITTLE HELP OVER HERE!" Daniel yelled as loud as he could.

Others

Thankfully, help was already on the way. Jessica, who was closest to Daniel's direction, thought she had heard something earlier. But at the same time, the others were chatting. Thinking it was nothing, she turned her attention back to the group. The mood was one of uneasiness. Who could blame them? A few minutes ago, they were just some average teens, talking with their friends, playing video games, etc. Now, here they were in an unknown forest in a different hour removed from any semblance of familiarity. Suddenly, they all heard the sound of Daniel's voice. Although they couldn't make out the exact words, the tone was unmistakable. Anger and distress.

"Let's go!" Shantia commanded.

The group hurried onward. As he came into sight, they could see him struggling with… something. They arrived just as he yelled for help. But as they neared him, they finally recognized what he was fighting. Some of them panicked and started backing away. The rest froze and had a dumbfounded look on their faces. Except Jessica. She looked downright excited.

Daniel noticed them. "Don't just stand there! Help me!" Jessica quickly reacted. She grabbed the nearest stick and attacked the zombie. But, in her haste, she grabbed a twig, which snapped upon impact. In return, the zombie lunged at her. This freed one of Daniel's legs. Taking the opportunity, he pulled back his leg, and kicked with all his might. Surprisingly, his foot crushed into its weakened skull. The zombie ceased moving.

Quickly, Daniel put some distance between him and it. Jessica stayed closer, but kept a safe distance away. Slowly, she neared it. And with her half of the twig, she started to poke it. "Is it dead?" A poke. "Is it dead?" A few more pokes. "I think it's dead."

Relieved, the others approached Jessica and the body. "I wouldn't." Jessica warned.

Her warning came too late. The incredible stench bulldozed into them. A few of them managed to resist the vomit-inducing smell. The rest rushed into the bushes.

"Ugh!" Bruce groaned, "The movies never warn you about the smell."

"We aren't in a movie. This is real-life." Tim reminded him.

Jessica grinned. "You think there any more zombies for us to kill?"

Everyone stared at her as if she was crazy. "Are you kidding? We can't take on another one." Daniel said incredulously.

"Didn't you just kill one with your foot? We can do it." Jessica argued.

Daniel frowned. "We can't just go around kicking zombies to death, if there are even anymore of them."

"Where are we?" Tim demanded. "Are we in an alternate dimension?"

"Please tell me this is all just a bad dream," Katelyn whined.

"Do we even know what today's date is?" Bart inquired.

Out of habit, Daniel checked his watch. The time was 7:46 p.m. _What the? It was 6 am last time I checked. Did whatever happen to us, also change my watch?_ He decided to check the date. It read July 23rd. _July? We've been teleported into the past! Or is it the future? I need a year!_ He looked around before his eyes rested on the former hitchhiker's backpack. Ignoring the smell (as hard as that was), he dug into it. By sheer luck, there was a newspaper in it. He pulled it out. After he moved away from the corpse, everyone gathered around him. At the top of the page was the date: July 23rd...1998. Not only that, the newspaper's title told Daniel exactly where they were.

"19...98," Bart quietly read.

"So, we've been transported eight years into the past!" Katelyn exclaimed.

"Wow...we've traveled back in time! Cool!" Jessica said excitedly.

Her excitement was the exception. "Does this mean that we have to stay away from home because of a time paradox?" Tim asked.

"I doubt it." Daniel answered.

"Why not?" Bruce questioned.

"Because of this," he pointed at the title of the newspaper. It read "Raccoon Today."

"Raccoon Today?" Bruce wondered.

"Wait!" Tim said. "Raccoon City?" He turned to Daniel. "Does that mean..."

"Yep. I know exactly where we are." Daniel faced the group. "Welcome to the world of Resident Evil."

Katelyn and Tim's expressions became tinged with fear. The others were confused. Jessica, living up to her reputation as the strangest girl at school, became even more excited.

"Umm...what's Resident Evil?" Bart asked.

"Resident Evil is a series of survival-horror games. Your character has to fight through zombies and monsters and solve puzzles to survive." Daniel explained.

"Is that all?"

"No, the story is much more complex. For now, let's focus on what will happen in the near future. In three hours, a special police unit called S.T.A.R.S. will be flying out here. Their copter will suffer an engine failure and crash into the forest. After combing the area, they will stumble onto a wrecked MP vehicle. They will learn about Billy Coen, an escaped convict. They'll split up, and one of them, named Rebecca Chambers, will find a train that belongs to Umbrella, a pharmaceutical company." Daniel predicted.

"Umbrella?"

"I'll fill you in later."

"Wait! How do we know we're in the games? We could be in the movies, for all we know," Tim countered.

"No, the movie was set in the year 2002. Obviously, that's not a possibility. I think our best bet is to wait here for three hours. When the copter comes, we'll head for it. For now, we should climb into the trees and wait. Okay?"

The group murmured their agreement, letting Daniel take the lead. Except Jessica. "Why do we have to go in the trees?"

"With any luck, any zombies or anything else will just pass underneath us. That'll keep us safe."

"We don't need to hide out in the trees. We can just fight them off."

"Without weapons?"

"A stick works just fine."

"Not against a pack of zombie dogs." Daniel warned. He noticed everybody was already climbing.

"I'm not a coward."

"If you stay down here, you will be one brave dead person."

"Boy! If you-" She was interrupted by distant howling. Daniel's blood chilled from recognition.

"Everyone! In the trees, NOW!" Daniel ordered. Everyone was scrambling to get to safety. Except Jessica.

"Jess, come on!" Shantia said. The howling was getting closer, but she ignored Shantia.

"Bart, Bruce get her!" Daniel commanded.

"If you **dare** touch me, I swear I'll-" The guys, ignoring her threats, yanked her into the tree. At that moment, the sun finally dropped below the horizon, plunging them into darkness. Thankfully, the darkness was short-lived for the moon shone brightly in the night sky. In a few moments the pack reached them. They slowed as they neared the trees. This gave Daniel and the others a good look at them. From the patches of skinless flesh to the new blood that caked their snouts from a fresh kill, Daniel couldn't help but shiver from fear.

The fact that he was by himself didn't help. Everybody else was in different trees. He hoped that nobody gave them away. The pack was halfway through when they stopped. Everybody's heart must have been doing double time at that point. _What's going on,_ thought Daniel. It was then he could hear the dogs sniffing the air. _Crap! We could be invisible and it still wouldn't hide our smell!_ The dogs split up. Two came toward Daniel, while the rest spread out. Unable to do anything else, he began to pray for deliverance. All the while, the dogs came closer and closer. One of them actually started to look up. It seemed their little adventure was over before it started.

Right before he was seen, a twig snapped a short distance away. Everybody's attention, including the dogs, snapped to the spot. Daniel could barely make out the shape of a deer. The dogs silently headed for their new prey. The deer became aware of them. It raced off to safety with the dogs chasing after it. Their barking gradually grew distant, until silence reigned. It was only now that everybody remembered to breathe. Daniel gave a quick prayer of thanks.

"Hey, are you alright over there?" Someone whispered.

"Except being scared ten years out of my life, I'm okay." Daniel replied.

"What now?"

"We stick to the plan and wait. Try to get some sleep if you can."

The talking ceased. Daniel doubted he'd be able to go to sleep so soon after that last scare. Instead, he began to think about the future. Since they were in Resident Evil 0 that meant that they would eventually end up on the train. _Time to make some plans_. First, they would head for the copter. Take any spare weapons and ammo. Then, head for the MP vehicle.

 _What about Bravo's pilot_ , Daniel wondered. How on earth was he going to explain how three Army Reserve soldiers and five teens were lost in the woods? Closed woods for that matter? And their driver's licenses were from Alabama. How was he going to explain that?

_Time to come up with a cover story._

After some time, Daniel repeated it to himself to check for any holes.

 _Okay. Shantia, Bart, and I are part of the same military unit stationed around here. It was a family day, which explains the presence of friends. We were going to the picnic area when we got lost in the mountains. The next day, our cars ran out of gas, so that would explain why we were all on foot. We have been walking around when we were attacked. Afterwards, we hid in the trees for safety. Then we saw the copter come down. Thinking it was help; we headed for it and found you._ It seemed believable enough…he hoped. But the pilot would probably want some I.D. His military I.D. didn't have a state on it, but it **did** have an issue date. The year was 2006.

 _Crap. This is probably worse than our Alabama I.D.s. My temporary military I.D. only has an expiration date, but, of course, it's back at home. Home._ Daniel looked at the stars. _I wonder if we will ever get back. What am I saying? Of course, we'll get back. We'll probably find the way back after this adventure is over. I guess I'll just have to hide the dates. It's the best I got._ Finished with his cover story, Daniel checked the time. 8:28 p.m. The train would be under attack by now.

 _Too bad, I can't do anything about it. Even if we were on the train, we'd merely become victims ourselves. I wonder... should we do anything to help? We would be contaminating the storyline. And if the "Butterfly Effect" and "A Sound Like Thunder" ever taught me anything, it's changing the past can be a **very** dangerous thing. And to do it would be so simple. Why, just being here can change it. Heck, we could change the entire storyline by saving a character or two._ He stopped. He didn't like the idea of calling Rebecca, Chris, Edward, or any of the others characters. As of now, they were real living, breathing people. And he was going to treat them as such. _Oh well. It'll be interesting to see how this story will go...and end._

The time was 8:41. With nothing else to do, Daniel set an alarm on the wristwatch. Then, he did his best to get comfortable and get a quick nap. As he tried to find the most comfortable position, he couldn't help, but think: _how the heck did Inuyasha learn to sleep in a tree?_ It felt like an hour before he found sleep. And it felt like seconds before his watch was waking him up. The time was 10:30.

"What's the alarm for?" Katelyn asked from another tree.

"The copter should be appearing any minute now. Get ready." Minute by minute, time slowly passed. Soon enough, the familiar sound of a copter's rotor blades reached them. A few more seconds, the copter itself became visible. Daniel noticed something.

Although the copter was heading in their direction, it would still be a good distance away. Daniel glanced back in the direction of the Spencer mansion that Jessica briefly glanced at from her earlier climb. He couldn't help, but wonder how Alpha team ended up there when it would be a mile and a half away, instead of finding the wrecked MP car? He turned his view back to the copter, just in time to see a small explosion on it. It lost altitude very quickly. That was their cue.

"Alright everyone!" Daniel yelled as he dropped onto the ground. "Time to move out!" The rest followed. After everyone was on the ground, they began their run to join Bravo Team. Each one of them hoped that they wouldn't run into any more undead creatures along the way. Everyone that is, except Jessica.


	2. A Train

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking the next step and risking life and limb to save those who are supposed to be their shields...

Author's note: Second chapter of my RE story. And I don't own RE. Capcom does. These 8 new characters are still mine. Enjoy!

* * *

Ever since they saw the copter malfunction, the teens made their way through the unfamiliar forest. They had started at a jog. But they soon ran into a problem. Daniel was in the lead with Jessica covering the rear. As he navigated through the forest, he was stopped when everything became pitch black. He glanced skyward and found the problem. A storm was rolling in. And one of the clouds was now between them and the moon. Without moonlight, they could barely see past their hands.

"I guess we have to stop for a bit," Bart declared.

"No," Daniel argued. "We need to get there as soon as possible. If we don't make it in time, things'll only get worse."

"Sims, we can barely see," Tim countered.

"Just be careful." He started walking. The others reluctantly followed him. Barely a minute a later, the steady sound of leaves swaying with the wind was broken when Bart tripped and fell face first into the ground. The soldier swore as he stood up.

"You okay, Bart?" Shantia asked.

"We really should stop." Before Daniel could argue, the entire forest seemed to light up as the cloud moved away.

"Let's go," Daniel commanded. Once again, the group jogged through the dark wilderness. Mother Nature decided that seven minutes of light was more than enough for the youngsters, throwing another cloud between them and the moon.

Katelyn peered at Daniel. "Are you going to insist that we keep going?"

"Yes."

Fate insisted otherwise. After walking over some distance, Daniel's foot caught on a branch for a split-second. He nearly fell to the ground, but regained his balance. Too bad his forward momentum carried him straight into a tree.

"Ow."

"Sims, face facts. We can't get anywhere like this," Jessica told him. Daniel muttered something under his breath, but they didn't try moving again, until after they had moonlight to guide them.

Unfortunately, it didn't last long. Daniel growled in frustration. "At this rate, we'll never reach the train in time!"

"Train? I thought we were heading for the copter?" Tim questioned.

"When we reach the copter, we are going to search for weapons and anything useful. Afterwards, we're going to look for a wrecked MP vehicle. From there, we head to the train." Daniel explained. "The train is where Bravo Team will be. At least, two of its members. They'll help us get through tonight."

"Why not get the stuff and just head for the city?" Bruce asked quietly.

"Because my plan will be saf-" Daniel stopped himself. He was about to say safer, but that wasn't true. Compared to all the Training Facility's traps and monsters, the wandering packs of zombie dogs would be much less dangerous. Although, they would be in the company of Billy and Rebecca, those two would have enough trouble protecting themselves. "Don't worry about it."

"He has a good point. And I'd rather be safe than sorry," Bart threw in.

"Because it will help us out in the long run. And we need to help some people along the way." Daniel argued. Plus, although he would never admit it, he was fascinated by the idea of fighting alongside the real Billy and Rebecca. Not to mention, he would actually be involved in the games. Something most fans only dreamed of.

"I'm all for helping others, but we need to be smart about this. We've already had one close call," Shantia said.

"Trust me. If we follow my plan, I'll be able to predict what will happen, where it will, and when. If we head for the city I won't have that advantage," Daniel warned them.

"You're saying that we have to trust your notorious memory. When was the last time you played this game?" Tim questioned.

"It's been...a while. But my memory is as good as it was then." He reassured.

"How can you be sure of that?" Bart added.

"I predicted the copter crash, didn't I?"

Bart didn't argue, but he was still hesitant of Daniel's plan along with a couple of others.

"I'm fine with it as long as I get to kill zombies," was Jessica's input. Everyone gave her a weird look, even Daniel. _That's probably not going to help my argument._

"Don't worry; I won't force anyone to do anything dangerous. If need be, everyone, except me and Jessica, can stay in the safe areas."

"Do you even know where the safe areas are?" Bart persisted.

"Yes, when we get to the mansion, the first room we enter is a big foyer or something like that. No monsters ever come in, guaranteed."

Bart was thoughtful about it. "As long as I don't have to get too involved in your reckless plans."

Moonlight signaled them that it was time to move. Daniel hoped they would reach the copter before any more clouds rolled in. Fate didn't feel like agreeing with him. In a second, their path was cut off.

"Argh! We're running out of time!"

"Hey, chill man. We'll get there soon enough," reasoned Tim.

This didn't stop Daniel from worrying. The longer they took the less chance they had of saving Bravo team. And he had every intention of saving every one of them. Besides that, there was always the danger of the wondering packs of zombie dogs. _If only there was some way to light the way. If I only knew this was going to happen. Would've brought a flashlight…and a rocket launcher. Better yet, would've brought an entire arsenal._

Then he noticed Bruce playing on his cell phone. Daniel frowned. _This isn't the best time to playing video games, even if we are in another video game._ Then he noticed the cell phone's light. It gave him an idea.

Quickly, Daniel pulled out his own cell phone and flipped it open. As usual, the little light in the phone turned on. He pointed toward the ground. It was only able to illuminate a foot in front of him, but it was better than nothing. He glanced at the others; they had already caught on. They started to form a line around him.

"Bruce," called Daniel. The named teenager looked up, noticed what was happening, and joined in. Then they moved on. With their limited sight, they could only move at a slow walk. _Still, it's better than waiting on the moon to come out,_ thought Daniel. As if on cue, the clouds parted. _Fate just loves to screw around with me._

Aloud, he said," Close them; we'll need to save the power." With cell phones secured, Daniel switched back to a light jog. _I hope we find the copter soon. Better yet, I hope we find it period. It's not like I have a map of this forest._ Before he could finish his train of thought, they entered a clearing. The same clearing was currently occupied by the copter. Relief pervaded the group as they came to a stop.

"Hold it!" Someone yelled at them. The group froze. Out of the copter came, none other than, Kevin Dooley, the doomed pilot of Bravo team, with a handgun aimed at the group. Kevin looked them over. Daniel could easily imagine the confused look that must be on the man's face. _I can't blame him. I wonder how I would react if three soldiers with five teenagers suddenly popped out of nowhere in the middle of a forest. Especially considering that the forest is supposed to be closed from the general public._

"Identify yourselves!" He commanded.

 _Time to use my cover story_. "Sir, I'm PFC Sims of the 287th Transportation Company. We need help. We were attacked by the cannibals. They wrecked our cars and chased us into the forest." Since one of the theories behind the Raccoon Forest murders was cannibals, Daniel thought it would be prudent to add them to his story. I mean, who was going to believe in zombies without seeing them for themselves? Daniel felt the others staring at him. _Should have told them the cover story,_ Daniel realized _. I can only pray they're smart enough to go with it._

"Who are they?" Kevin demanded, motioning to his friends.

Daniel began with Jessica who stood right behind him. "That's Jessica a friend of mine from high school." After her, he began pointing around the group starting from his right and working around. "Those two are PFC Carnes and Askew. They're from my unit and high school. The big one is Tim, the girl is Katelyn, his girlfriend, and the tall one is Bruce, Tim's cousin. They also come from my high school."

"Seven teenagers from the same high school?" Kevin restated disbelievingly. It looked like the cover story could've used more work… a lot more work. "How did all of you wind up out here?"

"We were having a family day with our unit. Basically, it's a barbecue with family and friends on a day off. We were supposed to be there yesterday, but we got lost along the way."

"What do you mean 'we'?" Daniel turned to Jessica in surprise. "You were leading the way in your car. **You** got **us** lost." Jessica interrupted. Daniel nearly grinned. Jessica was getting into it.

"Anyway our cars ran out of gas, while we were trying to find a road out. Then we were attacked and we've been running around in the forest since. Can you please help us?" Daniel pleaded.

Kevin still didn't look convinced. "Why aren't any of you injured?"

 _My cover story apparently has a few gaping holes._ "Pure luck, sir. They don't carry any guns. In fact, I think they've all lost it. They kept acting like zombies straight out of a movie. One grabbed and tried to bite me, but my friends pulled me out of there and we ran for it," To further persuade the pilot, Daniel pointed at the set of teeth marks on his boot.

"Do you have any I.D.?" Kevin replied cautiously.

 _Well here goes. Umm, God, could I have a little help here?_ Daniel prayed as he pulled out his military I.D. and gave it to Kevin. He kept his thumb over the dates, but then Kevin took it. Kevin then put **his** thumb over the dates. Daniel silently relaxed. After a minute, Kevin handed the I.D. back, satisfied.

"I'm Kevin Dooley, co-pilot for STARS Bravo Team. Do you have any information on the suspects?"

"Plenty, but I should speak to your Captain. Do you know where he is and do you have any spare weapons and items for us?"

"What makes you think I'm going to let a bunch of teenagers carry loaded weapons?" Kevin countered.

"Hey!" Shantia interrupted. "We might be teenagers, but us three," she continued, waving an arm over herself, Daniel, and Bart, "are honest-to-God soldiers of the United States Army. We've already trained with M16s with live-fire rounds. And I'm telling you, I'm not going another second without some kind of protection! I don't know about you, but I'd rather not be eaten alive!"

Kevin (and everyone else) was caught off-guard by her sudden outburst. "You tell 'im!" Jessica encouraged.

Kevin was silent for a couple of moments before pointing at the downed copter. "If it weren't for this situation, I'd never let youngsters like you use those things. And," he continued while glaring at Shantia. "May I remind you that I am a Law Enforcement officer and will be treated with respect." He jerked a thumb toward the copter. "There are two back-up Berettas in there with a couple of flashlights. Only you three," Kevin pointed at the soldiers, "can use them."

"Any medical equipment?" Daniel added.

"An emergency first aid kit should be under one of the seats."

Daniel motioned for the others to collect the gear. "Which way did your unit go?"

"That way." Kevin gestured in one direction. "They shouldn't be too far away. You can go on and check in with my superior, Captain Enrico. Then come straight back here. I'd rather radio him, but whatever crippled my bird damaged the radio too. Your friends will stay with me."

"I don't think that's a good idea. Traveling alone is just asking for it."

"I'm already offering you a handgun."

"Sir, with all due respect, these cannibals might be insane, but they're not stupid. And they know the terrain very well. I might end up walking into an ambush."

"Alright then. Take one of your soldier buddies."

"I think it'll be safer if everyone goes together. It'll be much safer that way."

"It would be, but it's unnecessary."

"Sir, I don't think you understand how serious the situation is. There's not only the cannibals to worry about, but they also have a pack of starving, attack Dobermans. We narrowly dodged them by hiding in the trees. That nearly failed; thankfully they started chasing after a deer that got too close." Kevin was quiet, busy weighing this new information. "Instead of splitting up and getting taken out one by one, we should move as a single unit."

Kevin glanced at the copter. "If what you're saying is true, then we'll need back-up."

Daniel, who thought he'd been making progress, didn't like this new turn in the conversation. "Without a doubt."

"Then I know what I need to do. I need to focus on repairing the radio." He focused his eyes on Daniel. "Take your friends and hook up with Bravo Team. Warn them of the situation. The Captain will know what to do."

The soldier paused, mentally reviewing arguments that would convince the pilot to come with them. "How long will it take it to fix the radio?"

Kevin hesitated. "It might be awhile," he admitted.

"Then your best bet is to come with us to find the others. Then everybody can come back and guard you while you do your job. It's our best option."

As Kevin mulled the idea over, Daniel peeked over his shoulder. The others had finished up their task and were now watching the exchange. "We're wasting time," Kevin decided. "I need to get started on the radio and all of you need to catch up the Bravo team."

 _Damn._ "Yes, sir."

As Daniel joined the others, Kevin whispered to him. "Please hurry," he pleaded in a quiet, but anxious voice. Daniel nodded.

"We have everything from the chopper." Shantia reported.

"Then, let's move. I'll be up front with. Bart, you're in the back." As the group formed up, the flashlights were turned on. And they were off again. As soon as they were out of Kevin's sight and hearing range, Daniel looked at Bart. "Bart, give Jessica the gun."

"Huh? But you said-"

"I know, but that was for Kevin's sake and Jessica seen more zombie movies than you have. Even if they weren't Resident Evil she knows better than you. So, hand it over."

"Has she even fired a gun before?" Bart protested.

Jessica grinned. "A bunch of times. Shooting cans is a great stress reliever." Grumbling, Bart handed it over to Jessica. Jessica, who was angry about not getting the gun earlier, let out a loud "Yippee!" And threw Bart a raspberry. That didn't improve Bart's mood.

Kevin

As Kevin went back to work on the copter, he kept one eye out on the surrounding area. Although he knew the area wasn't safe when he first "arrived", now the forest actually seemed to be gripped in a foreboding atmosphere. He paused, taking a tentative step toward the group. Again, he paused, shook his head, and walked back to the copter. _If I see any warning signs, I'll run after them._

Coincidentally, there was rustling in the nearby bushes."Who's there?" He yelled. No answer. With his gun locked onto the bushes, he slowly walked toward them. When he reached them, he shoved his gun into them, yelling, "Freeze!" Something leapt at his face.

Travelers

They had been running for a minute, when they all heard Kevin scream, which was accompanied by gunfire. Silence followed. _I always thought he was attacked right before Alpha team arrived; which is why they were attacked soon after the discovery. But if he's being eaten now, that means the z-dogs are close. Too close._

"Shouldn't we go back," Katelyn whispered.

Daniel gritted his teeth. "We don't have the firepower," he confessed. "Run!" The group put on a burst of speed, aided by the fear flowing through their veins. Unfortunately, the group had yet to arrive at the crash site. _I guess the MP vehicle wasn't as close to the copter as everyone thinks. Why would Capcom bother wasting time and money showing Bravo team walking through the forest for the sake of authenticity? That would also explain why Alpha team never saw the MP vehicle. They simply never saw it before the z-dogs attacked._

After running for who knows how long, they finally found the overturned vehicle. No one else was there besides the bodies of the two soldiers. They had missed them again. Hopefully, they were catching up to the STARS members.

"What now?" Tim asked.

As if answering him, the two dead soldiers reanimated. "Jessica!" Stepping right next to him, Jessica aimed with Daniel doing likewise. "Aim for the heads."

"Duh!" Was Jessica's reply. Just as the zombies turned toward them, the pair pulled their triggers.

Correction, they **tried** to pull the trigger. After a moment of confusion, they realized the safety was on. Jessica quickly turned her safety off. However, in his haste, Daniel forgot where the safety was. Plus, his hands were sweaty from all that running. So, as he jerked the gun to the side, it slipped from his hand. "Whoops!"

It sailed right through the air passing right in front of Jessica's face, who stepped back out of surprise. She ended up tripping on a fallen branch behind her. As quickly as they could, they scrambled for their weapons and took aim. Meanwhile the zombies steadily limped closer, uncomprehending the stupidity taking place in front of them. Everybody else started backing away. Jessica fired and hit the first one right between the eyes. Daniel pulled the trigger, but the safety was **still** on. Jessica was about to fire when he stopped her.

"No! I got him." Jessica glared at him, but obeyed. Daniel finally turned off the safety. With a firmer grip, Daniel swung the gun up as he aimed. It was unnecessary. As he swung up, the zombie lunged forward to take a bite. Instead of biting Daniel's neck; the zombie bit the barrel of the gun. Daniel, finally, pulled the trigger. The back of the zombie's head exploded. It dropped to the ground. Everybody was real quiet.

"That was so COOL!" Jessica exclaimed. Everybody gave her the well-deserving "you're-crazy" look.

Jessica grinned back at them. Then she glanced at Daniel, who was really quiet and staring at the body in front of him.

"You okay?"

"In the game, all you had to do was press a few buttons. Things are so much more complicated. And these monsters...they used to be people. It all seems so unfair to them." It was a sobering thought.

"Hey," she put a hand on his shoulder, "believe me, you're doing these people a favor by killing them...again." Daniel gave her a weird look. "Don't give me that look, you know I'm right."

"Yeah, that's what makes it so weird." He took a deep breath and relaxed. _This isn't the best time to be pondering about philosophical quandaries._ Then he was back to business. "Alright, search the humvee and the bodies. Hurry up, we don't have much time."

Two teens frowned at him, but they had no choice other than to follow his lead. While they did that, he did his best to figure out which way Rebecca went. He found the tell-tall slime on the humvee from the cutscene. Next, he found the empty briefcase. But, now he was at a dead-end. Worse, the fog was getting thicker. The rest of the group came to him with their findings, which included: two flashlights, a first aid spray, but best of all two M16s with five extra magazines and a map of Raccoon Forest.

Daniel took one M16 and three magazines. He looked at Shantia and Bart. "What were you're weapon scores?"

"Mine was 25," Shantia answered.

"31."

"Here, you take rear guard," Daniel said as he handed Bart the second M16. To Shantia, he gave her his handgun. Afterwards, they studied the map. While Daniel was a bit rusty with his map reading skills, Bart remembered enough to help them find their next destination, and even the mansion's location. Hoping it was the last time, the group ran toward the train. Luckily, the tracks soon came into sight… but not the train. The dark clouds finally decided to drop all the rain they had been carrying. Sensing glares coming from behind him, Daniel stepped forward onto the tracks. To his right, there was nothing. However, on his left down the tracks aways was the train, still and unmoving. He motioned the others to come up. They, too, saw the train.

"So...who's ready to play the game?" Daniel asked quietly and rhetorically. No one said a word whether out of worry and fear, or embarrassment from his stupid one-liner, he wasn't sure. But together, they started walking toward a fate possibly worse than death. As they neared it, shots rang out from within the train.

The door to safety is shut...

There is no turning back.


	3. Meeting Rebecca

As they neared the stopped train, Daniel barked out orders. "Shantia, Bart, I want you two to head around the train. You need to head out into the woods. You should find Bravo member Edward Dewey. If you hurry, you might be able to reach him before he is attacked by the z-dogs. Keep an eye out. I need you to get him to the train alive and preferably unharmed. Go, now!"

"Why are we doing this?" Bart questioned.

"We're going to need all the help we can get. And Edward is a well trained cop. We'll need him. Just go around the train and a little ways into the forest, and you should find him. Just find a way to get him to the train, and everything should be fine." The two soldiers, though openly apprehensive of the plan, raced to find their objective. "AND BE CAREFUL!" He yelled.

 _As long as they come back safe, I don't care what happens to Edward._ Daniel slapped himself mentally. Those were not only un-Christian thoughts, but he needed to stop thinking that this was all a game. The group passed the dining car and entered into the dry second passenger car out of the downpour. As they climbed onto the train, Daniel quickly whispered, "Everyone keep quiet and stay here."

It was quiet, dark, and reeked of death. A smell they were slowly getting used to. Worse, there were several bodies lying around. None of them were moving.

"I don't like being here." Katelyn complained, shivering once out of fear.

"Well, at least, you're out of the rain."

"What about them?" Jessica asked.

"They shouldn't reanimate, until Rebecca comes in here. If they do beforehand, I'm sure you can handle it."

"You bet I can. I just can't wait 'til they get back up; so I can shoot them back down again." She said with a grin.

 _That's good ol' Jessica for you_ , thought Daniel. Confident, the zombies wouldn't attack; he walked towards the next car.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Tim asked.

"I'm going to go and meet up with Rebecca and Billy. I'll be back shortly," he reassured them.

"You're not going to save all the action for yourself, are you?" Jessica threatened.

He rolled his eyes. "Of course not. I'll be right back."

"Oh, I guess you're gonna die now," Jessica declared.

"What? Oh right, Scream." The soldier paused as he got the movie reference. _Well, that's not foreboding,_ he noted sarcastically to himself. "I'll come this way in a short while," he adjusted.

"It's too late. You said it, you're screwed," Jessica said with a grin.

"Oh well." The high school senior walked into the next car. Daniel was now on his own.

Daniel's POV

Although lights illuminated the car, it was no better than the last one. Three bodies were in the middle of the walkway filled with bullet holes. The first two had bullet holes in their torso section, while the last one carried a single bullet hole in its head. A bunch of empty shells littered the floor. _She must have shot the first head either by luck or chance. Then took out the other two with massed fire, what a waste of ammo; unless, this is like easy mode. Then we shouldn't have to worry about bullets. But if it's not... well, as long as we stick to headshots, we should be okay. At least, until we run into the other undead monsters._ Finished with his observation, he moved into the cabin car. Unbeknownst to him, one of the side doors opened up.

The first thing Daniel noticed was the broken window. The downpour was still out in full force. The weather seemed to match their dismal situation precisely. He entered the first cabin. The room was a mess. The occupant had struggled ferociously before dying. Although there was a body lying in the bottom bunk, Daniel ignored it. It would never reanimate... supposedly. However, all the items were gone. _So, I missed Rebecca. She can't be far though._ Done, he exited the room. As he walked to the next cabin, the door knob began to turn. _It wouldn't be realistic if I **didn't** raise my rifle, so..._ As though he was expecting a zombie, Daniel aimed his rifle dead ahead. Of course, something a lot better than a zombie opened the door. Green eyes met green eyes.

A bewildered Rebecca took a step back when she found a M16 pointing at her head. Acting surprised, Daniel apologized and lowered his weapon.

"Who are you?" Rebecca asked alarmed and slightly relieved.

"Private First Class Daniel Sims of the 287th Transportation Unit. I and two other soldiers were separated from our unit. We've been attacked and we're looking for your Captain. The others, including some friends and family members, are two cars back." With his introduction made, Daniel began asking questions. "So, who are you and where's your Captain?" Of course he already knew the answers. But he still needed to keep up his act.

"I'm Officer Rebecca Chambers of STARS Bravo Team. We are looking for a fugitive by the name of Billy Coen. So far, I haven't had any luck, and I've run into some... trouble." She looked toward the last car they both had come from.

"You mean the zombies?" Daniel said bluntly.

Rebecca looked at him with surprise. "You've seen them, too?"

"Three of them. One attacked me, while we were wandering around in the forest. We ran into another two at a wrecked MP vehicle. So far, we've been lucky. Nobody's been hurt or bitten by them."

"I don't understand. How can they be... zombies?" Rebecca questioned, choking on the "z" word. "This isn't some cheap, B horror movie."

"Well, it isn't." _More like a cheap, B-horror video game._ "But no matter how you look at it. They're zombies. I strongly recommend avoid being bitten."

Rebecca stared at the door leading to the previous cabin. "I don't want to end up as a zom...as one of those."

"Likewise. So, let's focus on getting to your Captain. Where is he?"

She hesitated. "I don't know. We split up in the forest to find Coen. I'll try radioing him." She grabbed her radio and made the attempt. But after a minute of nothing but static, she gave up. "What now?" She wondered.

"We should check the train and see if anybody else is alive. If we don't find anybody, then we'll rejoin with my group and leave. Sound good?"

She nodded. "Yeah, let's do it."

Now that they had a plan, they began walking down the hallway. Daniel started out in the lead, but then Rebecca picked up her pace and moved in front of him.

"Maybe **I** should lead. After all, this is my mission. I'm older so it's my duty to be in charge, and this is under my jurisdiction." She reasoned as she walked in front of him.

Normally, he would've been more than happy to give the officer what she wished. But with his foresight, the soldier believed it would be best if he led. Not to mention the indirect slight against his pride. Daniel sped up and passed her. "First of all, I have an M16 to your small handgun. Second, since you're only eighteen that makes you only a year older than I am. Finally, Army trumps the police." He countered. By now, they had passed the small mountain of luggage in the middle of the hallway.

Rebecca was about to argue when she stopped. "Hey! How do you know my age?" Daniel came to an abrupt stop.

Daniel was smacking himself mentally. _Crap, crap, crap! I just had to let it slip! Stupid me! Quick, lie!_

Keeping his face away from Rebecca's eyes, he answered, "I saw an article in the paper about you. 'Teenager joins S.T.A.R.S Unit' was the title." He didn't dare turn around.

"Oh, really," Rebecca said, "I didn't know there was an article about me," she said suspiciously.

"I can even tell you who wrote it, Alyssa Ashcroft," he said hoping to back-up his lie. _Hope she never runs into her back at Raccoon City._

"Huh," she responded, slowly believing him, "I'd like to see it when we get back...just to be sure." This didn't help matters with Daniel. _And I'd like for you to forget about it before we get back. Which you probably will, with all the monsters and all that crap we're about to go through._

"Now that we're done with that argument, we should get a move on," Daniel said. In a second, they were at the end of the car. A door stood between them and the engine car. Off to their left were the remains of one of the conductors. Rebecca knelt down and examined the body and took a key she found on him.

Daniel checked the Conductor's cabin's door. He glanced at the electronic lock, "I can't do anything about that door without the card key." He stepped next to Rebecca.

Rebecca examined her key. "It says 'Dining Car.' Huh. I didn't know it was locked." Daniel heard someone approach from behind. Still keeping up his act, he aimed his rifle in the direction of the footsteps. Guess who came around the corner at that moment? His signature handcuffs and the large, stylish tattoo on his right arm easily gave him away. It was the one and only Billy Coen!

He saw Daniel's raised rifle and lifted his own weapon, a Colt M19 handgun.

"Sorry. Thought you were a zombie," Daniel apologized as he lowered his rifle. Billy mirrored his action.

"Billy. Lieutenant Coen." Rebecca stated as she stood up.

Billy seemed mildly surprised. "So, you seem to know me. Been fantasying about me, have ya?"

 _If that was his idea of a joke, he could **really** use some help. Then again, I'm not a master of comedy either._ Daniel noted.

"You were the prisoner that was being transferred for execution. You were with those soldiers outside."

"Oh, I see," he continued, eyeing Rebecca's uniform for the first time. "You're with S.T.A.R.S. Well, no offense honey, but your kind doesn't seem to want me around. So, I'm afraid our little chat time is over."

Billy gaze shifted to Daniel. "I'm surprised that they've already sent more MPs after me."

"You've got it all wrong. I'm just a soldier who went and got himself and a few others lost."

Billy chuckled. "The Army's standards have really dropped."

While not the Army's biggest fan, Daniel did feel the urge to defend his Branch. "Well, I'm sorry if I'm not insane enough to join the Marines."

"Heh. Only the best join the Marines."

"You mean the all-muscle-and-no-brains guys join the Marines." Daniel countered. Before Billy could say another word, Rebecca interrupted.

"Enough! You're under arrest." She said in her version of a tough-guy voice. Which wasn't really intimidating... at all.

"No thanks, doll face. I've already worn handcuffs." He said raising his arm with a pair of cuffs dangling off his left arm. Then he went on his merry ol' way.

"I could shoot, ya know." She threatened. Billy didn't even stop. He just left through the door at the opposite end of the car.

Rebecca sighed. "Well, that went well," she said bitterly.

Daniel put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile. "It wasn't that bad. After all, he's an ex-marine and you're just a medic." Daniel reassured her.

Rebecca returned a half-hearted smile. "Thanks... I guess." With nothing better to do, the two of them headed back toward the dining car. Knowing what was about to happen, Daniel let Rebecca take the lead. _If Shantia and Bart succeeded then Ed **shouldn't** come crashing through the window._

Contrary to Daniel's hopes, Edward crashed through the window. "Edward!" Rebecca yelled as she ran to him. Daniel was right behind her. Relief spread through him as he surveyed Edward's state of health. Edward had a several cuts from the window and a chewed-up shoulder. But nothing else. There was no doubt that he would survive. _But he's infected now...or is he? What are the chances of being immune? Oh, that's right. 10%._ Daniel frowned. He didn't like those odds at all. Still, Edward was better off than he would have been if he and his friends hadn't arrived.

"Are you okay?" Rebecca asked as she began making her own diagnosis.

"I'll make it," he assured her.

Not taking any chances, Rebecca applied a green herb, she had found earlier. _Okay, so Edward is okay. I just hope the others are too._ Daniel thought as he gazed out the window.

"What happened to you?" Rebecca asked Edward when she was done.

"I was searching the forest when I was attacked by a dog... at least, I think it was a dog." At the mention of the word 'attack', Daniel pressed himself against a corner next to the windows and kept a sharp lookout. Despite his efforts, he couldn't see past the black mist that lurked a few feet beyond the train. _This is pointless,_ he realized. _With all of this light, my eyes can't adjust to the darkness._ His actions didn't go unnoticed. He froze as the sound of gunfire sounded...from the back of the train.

"What's wrong?" Rebecca asked alarmed as she glanced between him and the back cars.

"Were you followed?" Daniel asked needlessly, while he scanned through the window, willing himself to focus on their situation.

"I don't kn-," Edward was cut off as Daniel yelled, "Incoming!" He jerked his head back. Next to him, the window shattered as a z-dog flew into the train. It landed on its paws with a thud and circled around to face them. In one smooth motion, Daniel raised his rifle to fire while flipping a switch on his rifle from 'safe' to 'semi'. Edward's surprise was short-lived as he aimed with his handgun. Rebecca froze. Daniel grinned. _I have the perfect headshot_. The z-dog snarled at them. Daniel squeezed the trigger. The bullet sped through the air and crashed... into the floor next to the z-dog's head. "Huh!"

Edward had better luck. He fired five bullets into it; before it finally lurched over. Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief. However, Daniel knew it wasn't over. He parked himself back into the corner.

"How did you miss?" Edward inquired.

"I don't," he cut himself off when he smacked his head."Duh! This M16 hasn't been zeroed for me yet." He began to adjust part of the rifle, while glancing out the window.

"Zeroed?" Rebecca questioned.

"It means the sight posts haven't been adjusted to my eyes. That's why I missed." Daniel explained. Though when he thought about the range, he realized that the sight post was only half of the issue. He probably jerked the trigger like a newbie too.

"Well, adjust them." Rebecca said. Daniel frowned.

"I only know how to adjust the back one." He admitted resignedly.

"Are there any more of them?" Edward asked.

Daniel shook his head. _Where is it? Wait a second!_ Realization dawned on him. He rushed to the other hallway. Gunfire was still coming from the other side of the train. He didn't know whether that was a good or a bad thing. As he stopped and pointed his rifle; the second z-dog came through the window at the other end of the hallway and charged him. Hoping his rushed adjustments were enough, he squeezed the trigger. This time it hit the z-dog. Unfortunately, the shot hit its neck, a kill shot for anything that was alive. The z-dog twitched for a moment before leaping onto Daniel.

It shoved him to the floor. Luck seemed to favor Daniel when the z-dog bit into the rifle's handle and not his neck. The z-dog tried to throw the rifle to the side, however, Daniel hung onto it with his life on the line. Once again, Edward tried to come to the rescue. Only to find out that his clip was empty. "Not now!" He yelled as he reloaded. This time, it was Rebecca who made the shot. It took seven bullets, but in the end, the monster collapsed. With it dead, Daniel shoved it off him. He scampered away from it until his back met the wall. He let out a deep sigh of relief. He was shaking with fear. _Definitely not like the game..._

"Thank you **very** much, Ms. Chambers."

"You're welcome," she said, equally relieved, "you know, you can call me Rebecca."

Daniel smiled. The idea of being in one of his favorite video game series, and being on a first name basis with one of the good guys, just seemed cool. "Thanks."

Quickly changing the topic, Rebecca asked worried, "You weren't bit, were you?"

"Thankfully, I wasn't," his gaze switched to Edward, looking for something to take his mind off his near-death experience, "so what happened to you."

"Well, I was out in the forest when I heard something snarl in front of me. I was bit uneasy since I couldn't see past my flashlight's range. So, I fired a couple rounds to scare it off. It didn't work. Instead, it charged me, hard. I tried to shoot it, but it was fast. Then, it leapt at me...and I finally got a good look at it." Edward stared at the body in front of him. "I've never seen anything like it. I was taken off guard and tackled to the ground. It started to maul on my shoulder. I tried to fire at it, but I couldn't. Then out of nowhere, this soldier appeared and fired on the... dog. It didn't die, but it did let go. Someone yelled,' THIS WAY!' and I ran toward their direction. I must have been running faster than my rescuers because I never saw them. I ran, until I found this train. I heard howling behind me, so I didn't bother to find a door. And here I am," he explained calmly. The other two listened patiently. Correction, one of them listened to him patiently. Edward's story painfully reminded Daniel of the earlier gunfire.

"Well, if you can move, we need to head back. I want to check on my friends." It wasn't a statement, it was a worried, nervous request from the soldier. 

"I am," Edward answered as he stood up. The three of them walked rapidly into the second passenger car. Two more zombies had reanimated. The S.T.A.R.S members quickly took care of them, but only after Daniel warned them to focus completely on headshots. Finally, they arrived in the first passenger car. Back where Daniel and Rebecca started, everyone was surprised to find Kevin amidst the group of teenagers. Before Daniel could ask, Rebecca's radio beeped to life.

"This is Rebecca, over," She answered.

Through the static, a man's voice came through. "Rebecca, this is Enrico. What is your location, over?"

"Enrico? Hello! Can you read me, please respond?"

"Rebecca, I can hear you. Now listen up, we've gained detail information on the fugitive from the document found in the wrecked wagon. Bill Coen killed as many as… twenty-three people, over."

"Twenty-three people." Rebecca said, shocked. Edward's scowl deepened.

 _Where is Enrico at this point? He can't be too far away._ Daniel wondered.

"We've also confirmed that he was institutionalized. So, keep your guard. Can you hear me Rebecca? Over. Stay alert, Rebecca; he wouldn't think twice before killing you." Enrico solemnly warned her.

"Then why didn't he try anything back there?" Daniel blurted out.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Edward asked. Before either of them could say another word, Enrico's voice faded away.

"Enrico, Captain. Hello? Hello!" She messed with the radio.

"What were you talking about?" Edward inquired.

"We ran into him a while back. He didn't really do anything, just walked away." Daniel explained.

Edward glared at Daniel and Rebecca. "Neither of you tried to arrest him?" He questioned. Rebecca hung her head in shame. Daniel was defiant.

"If you haven't noticed, we have bigger things to worry about than some fugitive," argued Daniel.

"I know there have been some complications with this mission; however, we cannot ignore our primary objective."

"Our primary objective as of this moment is to survive!" Daniel countered.

Rebecca sighed. _Arguing isn't going to help us._ Then, she turned to look at the rest of the Daniel's group. She was surprised. "What happened here?"

Daniel and Edward stopped bickering to see what the matter was. Daniel grew cold from fear. Windows had been broken in. Three z-dogs were lying dead throughout the train. A pool of blood was in front of the right door. Finally, he noticed the state the group was in. Jessica looked... contemplative? A rare state of being for her. Shantia's face was etched in misery. Katelyn was pale and couldn't stop shivering with Tim holding her. Bruce stood of the side, fear in his eyes. _Bart… wait, where is Bart?_ Daniel's fear doubled.

He didn't want to say it, but the words slipped from his mouth. "Where's Bart?"

Shantia answered. "We were out in the forest, when we found him," Shantia pointed at Edward. "Being attacked. We saved him, but... they followed us."

"Yeah, it didn't go very well," Jessica put in, "After you left…"

Flashback

Jessica watched the bodies very carefully. She waited for any sign of movement. A minute passed, and then another, then a few more came and went.

"How long is this going to take?" She yelled.

"I can't believe you **want** them to reanimate. Are you suicidal?" Tim asked.

"Not since a year ago," she answered without batting an eyelash.

Tim's mouth dropped to the floor. "You really are insane."

"That's old news."

Tim shook his head. _I don't like this. We'd better get to a safe spot soon. If anyone tries to hurt my baby, I'm going to make them wish they were dead._ He gazed at Katelyn.

"I don't like this one bit," complained Katelyn.

"What are you worried about? It's just like being in a horror movie, or a video game. And Daniel knows exactly what to expect. What could possibly go wrong?" Jessica replied.

Katelyn shot her an irritated look. "You may have not noticed, but if you have seen any horror movies, then you would know that anything can go wrong will probably happen."

"Oh, go and cry me a frickin' river," Jessica answered dismissively.

"Don't talk to her like that," Tim warned her.

"Back off, lover boy. Fighting zombies is a whole lot more fun, but I'll take you on, if you want," Jessica shot back.

Tim glared at her for a moment before he shrugged it off. “I don't like them being so close." He stabbed a finger at the bodies. While the group was in the middle of the train, bodies were lying throughout the car. Jessica let out an aggravated sigh.

"Fine! Tim, get over here."

"Huh? Why me?"

"I need someone to cover me, while I move the bodies."

"You're kidding!" He said in shock.

"No, I'm not. Now, move it!" Tim groaned. Nonetheless, he complied.

While Tim kept a careful aim at their foreheads, Jessica started piling the bodies in the seats between the doors and the center of the car.

"Why are you moving them there?" Bruce inquired when she finished up, "why not throw them out the doors?"

"Then I wouldn't be able to shoot them," she answered while taking her handgun back.

"Your stupidity is going to get all of us killed. We throw them out," Bruce quietly commanded as he rose to his feet.

"I don't think so," Jessica snidely replied, looking up to glare directly at Bruce.

"If this is anything like Resident Evil 4, then you'll have plenty of monsters to fight. Now throw them out, or I make sure you don't ever get your gun back," Bruce resolutely returned, meeting Jessica's glare, eye for eye.

"And I'm with him," Tim piped in.

Jessica fumed, "....fine," she hissed.

While under the careful surveillance of the two cousins, Jessica tossed all but one of the bodies a few feet away from the train. Once her task was completely, she held her open palm to Tim. The football player looked at the last body then at Bruce, who shrugged. "Keep a close eye on it," he said as he gave Jessica's gun back.

"Like there's anything else I can do!" She complained as she retook her vigilant watch.

As Tim walked back to Katelyn, the car's right door opened. Kevin stepped in, drenched. Jessica grinned. "So, ya decided to join us."

"Yeah," he said a bit sheepishly, "And you forgot something." He held up the wet remains of the map of Raccoon Forest. Jessica slapped her head.

"Daniel always did forget stuff. So," she slyly asked, switching gears. "What changed your mind?"

"Before I answer that, I need to know something," Kevin replied, dead serious. "Why was there a body outside.

"Well, about that....wait, only one body!"

Before he could answer, Shantia and Bart came racing in from the opposite door.

"How did it go?" Tim inquired.

His answer was several howls from the distance, a rapidly shrinking distance. Bart, Shantia, and Jessica whirled toward the sound, guns raised. Kevin was confused.

"Are those the killer Dobermans, you're friend was talking about?" The three fighters glanced at each other. Kevin was in for a rude awakening. Just then, a groan emanated from their right. A zombie slowly emerged from one of the seats. Kevin nearly panicked. "What the hell! How is he still alive?" He yelled. He moved against the seat behind him.

"I got him." Jessica reassured. As she turned to fire, the door's window exploded as a z-dog jumped through it. Its entrance caused chaos. Bart jumped to the right to get out of its way. In the process, he knocked into Jessica. This caused both of them to crash to the floor. Shantia had stepped to the left. Bruce and Tim took a few steps back with Tim trying to protect his girlfriend. Unfortunately, Katelyn was transfixed by the new dangerous entity, rooting her to the floor. Thus, when Tim pushed back, she took a step back carelessly, slipping on a small patch of blood. With a soft cry of surprise, she fell onto the floor. Tim, who went from pushing her to pushing air, found himself without anyone to balance his backwards direction. His slow pace abruptly picked up, arms waving wildly in a vain hope to regain his balance. Bruce provided the necessary stability as he reached out and put his hands on Tim's shoulders, bringing him to a halt.

Kevin yelled, "OH MY GOD!" before freezing. The z-dog snarled, while the zombie shuffled ever closer. Jessica and Bart scrambled to get up. Bruce, now that his cousin was no longer in danger of falling, inched toward the exit Daniel had used, his courage failing. The z-dog targeted Katelyn, who was still on the floor. It leapt at her. Tim desperately tried to pull her out of the way; instead, the z-dog bit into her shoe. The three struggled with Tim doing everything he could to keep the monster from biting into his girlfriend. Shantia was about to fire when a smashing sound drew her attention.

Another z-dog invaded the train through the window nearest to the door to the other passenger car. Immediately, it started after Tim and the others. Bruce panicked and did a 180 degree turn. Shantia switched targets. Bart tried to get a clear shot at Katelyn's attacker. Jessica turned to finish off the zombie, but it was already lunging at her! She grappled with her attacker. Shantia couldn't get a clear shot because of the group running towards her. "Out of the way!" Shantia commanded. Bruce dived into a nearby empty seat. With four rounds, Shantia sent the second z-dog sliding into the floor.

Luckily for Katelyn, Tim scored a solid kick at his z-dog, pushing it away. With Katelyn safely out of his line of fire, Bart let loose a volley on the blood-covered creature. And at that range, he couldn't miss. One bullet completed a headshot, blowing its skull into pieces.

Despite its determination, Jessica managed to shove the zombie away. Due to its poor motor skills, it tripped to the ground. For a moment, everything was under control **.**

Everything changed when a third z-dog jumped through the other door window. Its target was unmistakably Bart. In desperation, he raised his rifle to defend himself. It was too late. The monster knocked him to the ground, and, in one fluid motion, it sunk its fangs into his throat. Bart screamed and beat his fists on his attacker. Jessica took aim, but was interrupted when a hand grabbed her leg. This reminded her of her own problem. Likewise, Shantia turned to save her fellow soldier. She too was intercepted. The "dead" z-dog started to get back up. As she whirled around to finish it off, she yelled, "Somebody save him!"

Finally, Kevin snapped out of his mental state. With his own handgun, he unloaded hot metal on Bart's z-dog. There was a sickening sound of ripping flesh as the z-dog tore a piece of flesh from Bart's neck. Bart's eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets. But where there should have been a scream, there was only a hideous gurgling noise. As Bart slowly suffocated, Jessica quickly finished the zombie with a single bullet. Now free from distraction, she poured additional fire into the z-dog. Joining her friends' efforts, Shantia added her own weapon to the fray. After withstanding this punishment for a few seconds, the last z-dog collapsed, dead. The danger was finally over, along with Bart's life.

Jessica, the closest to him, hesitated. Immobilized by a single question in her mind. _Do I want to help him?_ Memories of a particularly cruel event tried to convince her otherwise. On the other hand, Kevin and Shantia rushed to save him. Shantia put pressure on his neck to stop the bleeding. His skin was rapidly turning pale. Kevin shook his head. He knew a fatal injury when he saw one.

"It's no use. He's as good as dead."

"We can't just let him die!" Shantia argued. Angry tears were forming at her eyes.

"We have no choice," Kevin said quietly. Despite his inability to breathe, Bart could still hear them. Upon hearing Kevin's last statement, the dying soldier panicked and began flailing his limbs. Jessica glanced at the dead z-dog. The piece of flesh was still in its mouth. An idea hit her. _As if it could possibly work...aw to hell with it._

"We still have a chance," she declared. Working quickly, she pulled the chunk of flesh out of its mouth. Next, she moved it back on Bart's neck.

"He's too far gone." Kevin warned. "And even if this stupid idea of yours works, he'll probably have an infection."

Jessica checked to make sure her weapon was on safe, before she pressed the still-hot barrel onto the skin. Bart spasmed as his skin burned.

Kevin shook his head. Before she could continue, Bart emitted a low groan. And as the groan faded, so did his life. Private First Class Bart Carnes was dead.

"He's gone," Kevin quietly announced. Shantia didn't say anything. Tears began to fall from her face. Katelyn bowed her head in prayer, with Tim and Bruce joining her. Jonathan could only stare at the new body **.**

"Well... shit." Jessica said. Confusion and disappointment were etched into her face. "We should move him," everyone looked at Jessica, "before he changes." No one argued. Kevin helped her as she grabbed the former soldier's arms. With the task complete, they reentered the train. Not long after, Daniel, Rebecca, and Edward came in.

Present

Daniel was devastated. "It's all my fault," he whispered, horrified. Rebecca placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"No, it isn't. It's nobody's fault."

"It is. I brought them here."

"You were just looking for help. The worse you've done is get lost on the road."

 _No, it is my fault._ Daniel agonized. _It's the Butterfly Effect all over again. I brought these consequences upon them._

"Look at the bright side; he's in a better place now," Edward added.

"But he isn't. He never became a Christian. He's in the worst place possible," Daniel despaired. Edward, along with Rebecca was taken aback by this. So much for the usual encouragement.

 _Still being the good preacher's son. Even now of all times and places. I wonder if he'll ever change. Time to go cheer him up,_ Jessica decided. She walked over to him, and pulled her arm back.

With his eyes downcast, he didn't even notice. She slapped him across the face hard. The impact sent his crooked glasses flying onto a nearby seat. He finally gave her his attention.

Jessica gestured about their surroundings. "Sims, we've already seen this movie. You and I know that we don't have time for you to fall into depression. If you don't want anybody else to die, then git yourelf back into gear," she warned.

He scowled at her. _She's right. Damn it all, she's right._ Daniel surveyed the group around him. All eyes were on him, watching... waiting. _It looks like I don't have the luxury to mourn right now._ He walked over to where his glasses landed. He carefully lifted them and replaced them on his face.

With a look of grim resolve, Daniel grabbed Bart's M16 off the floor next to the pool of blood. He presented it to Shantia. Slowly, she took it, while she handed over her handgun.

"Remember, you still need to modify the sight posts." Shantia nodded. Daniel took the handgun, and held it out to Tim.

He took it from Daniel's hand. Tim glanced at Katelyn, his own eyes displaying iron determination.

Out of the corner of his eye, Daniel noticed a dark item on the ground. It was Bart's beret. He picked it up and offered it to Katelyn.

"Could you hold onto this?" He quietly asked.

Glancing between him and the hat, she nodded. "Yes."

Finished, he walked to the other train door. Then, he turned the knob. It wouldn't budge. He faced Rebecca.

"Um, Rebecca," he tilted his head to the door, "it's still locked."

"Oh, right." As she walked toward the door, she pulled out the key.

"Maybe you should stay here," Daniel suggested to Edward, who had been right behind Rebecca.

"What? If you're worried about my injury, don't. I've survived much worse than a dog's bite. And as the senior member of Bravo Team here, I should be in charge, not you," Edward retorted, respectfully disagreeing.

"Which is why I want you to stay here. I've already lost one friend to these monsters. With your experience, you're our best defense on this train." He reasoned with pleading eyes.

Edward frowned, but relented. "Fine, but if I think you're in trouble, I'm coming after you. In the meantime, I'll try radioing the others."

"Very well." Rebecca unlocked the door. A small smile appeared on his face. "You don't seem to need this key anymore. Throw it away?" His words coming straight from the game. Rebecca gave him a funny look. "Yes." She tossed it onto a seat. Daniel and Rebecca started through the door.

"Hey! You're leaving me here again?" Jessica yelled.

"Only for now. Don't worry, I'll make sure you get to fight plenty of zombies."

"You'd better! Or, boy, I'll- !" She threatened, as Daniel closed the door on her.


	4. The First Boss

They entered into a small hallway. Stairs led to a second floor along the left wall. In front of them, an electronic door led to the kitchen with a light above it glowing red. While Rebecca checked the door, Daniel grabbed the file sitting on the small table in the corner.

Rebecca sighed. "It won't open."

"According to this, the power is controlled by a generator on the roof of this car." He replied as his eyes scanned the document.

From behind them, they heard yelling.

"It sounds like Edward," Rebecca commented nervously. More yelling rang out.

"And Jessica," Daniel added. “Looks like we need to go back.”

The pair re-entered the car and found the source of the latest issue. Billy was standing at the opposite end of the train watching the scene unfold before him with a small smirk. A few feet in front of Daniel, Jessica and Edward were locked in verbal combat. “What’s going on?”

Immediately, Jessica turned to Daniel and gestured at Edward. “Good ol’ Eddy here wants to lock up the new guy. I said we shouldn’t bother with it, until we’re back in safety. And connect the dots for the rest.”

"You have talent for creating chaos," Daniel observed, directing the statement at Billy.

"Lucky me," Billy said sarcastically.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Edward demanded, glaring at Jessica. “You heard my Captain. That convict is a murderer.” His eyes focused on Billy. “A disgrace to the Armed Forces. He’s nothing more than scum. And it’s my duty to take him in.”

“And what part of ‘zombie situation’, don’t you get!?” Jessica argued. “Wait, scratch that. ‘Zombie and freakin’ monster’ situation! We’re going to probably need his help to get out of this situation alive!”

“We have the situation under control!”

“Tell that to Bart!”

“This isn’t helping us in the least,” Daniel interjected.

Edward turned to Daniel. “Are you also suggesting that we let this bastard go free?”

Daniel frowned. _Well this is a lot different from the game._ “If you want to cuff him, that’s your prerogative, er call. All I’m saying that it might be more useful to keep an eye on him without the cuffs. After all, survival comes first, and there’s safety in numbers.” He glanced at Billy. “I’m assuming that’s why you were trying to catch up to us.”

Billy nodded. “This situation is FUBAR. It’d be better if we teamed up until this whole thing blows over.” He scanned the room. “Although, I wasn’t expecting so many civilians to be here.” He focused on Edward. “You’ll need my help protecting them.”

“Like hell I do,” Edward growled. “The only reason we’ve lost one soldier is because I wasn’t here to take care of the situation, and Kevin is only a pilot.”

“Well, don’t you just inspire confidence,” Billy replied sarcastically.

“Shut up! I’m arresting you for the murders you’ve committed,” Edward declared as he advanced toward Billy with a pair of handcuffs.

Billy’s response was to pull out his handgun on the approaching police officer. Edward responded in a similar manner. The tension in the room doubled. “I already have one pair. Don’t need another one.”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Shantia interrupted. “We don’t need to be shootin’ each other. We’ve got bigger problems to worry about.”

“She’s right,” Daniel added. “Billy, if you’re serious about joining us then put the gun down.”

“And how do I know he won’t just shoot me?” He asked.

Edward snorted. “Don’t think I’ll sink to your level, bastard.”

Billy glared daggers at the STARS member. “Stop calling me that.”

“For God’s sake!” Jessica shouted. “Just put down the damned gun and get it over with!”

Billy’s eyes flickered between Jessica and Edward. Slowly, he relaxed and dropped his aim.

“Now that’s finished,” Daniel continued. “Billy, you’re going to have to stay here. We’ll let you keep your gun, won’t handcuff you, but Edward will keep an eye on you.”

Edward shot an annoyed look at Daniel, but didn’t speak.

“So, what’s the plan?” Billy questioned

“Rebecca and I are going to search for survivors in the rear car. Once we’re done, we all will leave the train together and try to meet up with the rest of Bravo team.”

“Simple. Let’ hope you don’t run into anything.”

“If we do,” Daniel replied, “We’re well-equipped to handle it.” He gestured to Rebecca and the two of them moved out. Since their hallway search was already completed, they climbed the stairs to the next floor.

When they reached the top, they found the dining area. Next to them were two rows of small tables lining the car. Each one adorned by a white linen table cover, a candlestick, several sets of expensive dishes and glasses and two wooden chairs with red upholstery. Next to each table was a window with cream-colored curtains. A counter with a pass-through and wooden shutters sat next to the stairway. On the other side of the counter was a door. Since the incident, one candle had toppled over, quickly lighting a table. The only living thing here was an old man in a brown suit who seemed to be staring at his plate.

Daniel frowned as he studied the fake human. The cutscene from this segment of the video game played in his head. Rebecca checking the figure, the leech attack, and Billy’s last minute rescue. _But things are different this time. Billy isn’t waiting at the foot of the stairs, ready to make his rescue. He’s stuck with the others with Edward watching him._

Rebecca took a step toward the figure. Daniel quickly grabbed her arm. She shot him a quizzical expression. “What is it?”

He whispered, “Does anything with this scene feel very off?”

She frowned, but found herself whispering back, “No, we need to help him.”

“Then could you please explain to me, why he hasn’t moved or reacted to us at all?”

“He could be in shock or maybe he’s passed out.”

“Then could you also explain why he isn’t hurt when everyone else here is dead?”

Rebecca paused. “Maybe he was hiding until then?”

“I don’t like it.” He shouted at the old man. “Hey! Are you alright?” The figure didn’t respond.

“Let’s just go help him,” Rebecca implored. Instead Daniel grabbed a nearby fork and threw it at the being. Through a lucky hit, the fork crashed into its forehead.

“Daniel!” She started, only to watch in horror as the head fell off. Already well aware of what was happening, Daniel turned off his rifle’s safety, and switched it to burst mode.

With the “head” on the floor, the rest of the body began to deform. The old suit it wore slowly turned blue and fleshy. As Rebecca watched in horror, the “body” fell to pieces that were soon identifiable as leeches. The leeches themselves were monstrously huge, completely unnatural with an odd, white membrane on their backs in the shape of an eye. Even Daniel could feel his stomach react to the sickening scene and sound. _They are a lot more disgusting in real life than in the game._

The now-separate leeches slid into a pile that soon became a mound of ugly flesh. Daniel knew what was next, and pulled his trigger as a response. The loud crack of rifle fire snapped Rebecca out of her dazed fear. She added her own weapon’s firepower to the mix. The leeches, which had melded into one form, ignored their attacks. After another second of morphing themselves together, it now stood in the form of the old man. But unlike last time, it merely shared the elder’s detailed shape, including the outline of the jacket it wore earlier. Along with that, its eyes had no pupil, its hair was nothing more than an imprint, and it was all a sickly green color.

It took one sludge-like noisy step toward them before it finally acknowledged the bullets piercing its “skin”. Rapidly, the figure deformed into the mass of leeches. And then, as one yet as individuals, the swarm slithered toward them. But not at a snail’s pace that Rebecca had always pictured. But at a blazing pace that removed the few precious feet between the two of them. _Crap, crap, crap!_ Daniel roared within his mind. _Need to think of something._ Out of the corner of his eye, the fires were beginning to spread and consume the tablecloth. Remembering the leeches’ extreme aversion to fire, he dropped his rifle and shoved the burning table into the swarm’s path. There was a strange gurgling noise as the table landed on the forward half of the swarm. The remaining leeches quickly slithered around the burning obstacle only to have another table thrown upon them, courtesy of Rebecca. The last few leeches halted their advance and decided it was prudent to retreat.

While Daniel would have preferred to stomp on the few survivors, he and Rebecca had to spring into action and stop the fires from spreading. As they started on their task, heavy and rapid footsteps alerted them that someone was coming on the stairs. In a few seconds, Billy arrived on the second floor, closely followed by a vigilant Edward.

"What’s going on?" Edward demanded. Billy, for his part, immediately joined Daniel and Rebecca in quelling the flames.

“We ran into something,” Daniel stated.

“Something?”

“Leeches!” Rebecca exclaimed, her expression showing open confusion and dismay. “Hundreds of huge leeches! They could form themselves into a humanoid appearance! They tried to attack us!” She glanced at Daniel with newfound awe in her eyes. “How did you know there was something wrong about the old man?”

“Well,” he shrugged, “seemed a bit obvious that all wasn’t right with him. The way he was just sitting there like that.” He looked and noticed both Billy and Edward’s skeptical expressions. “You don’t believe us.”

Edward frowned. “Well, it’s a bit out there.”

“Says the man who was just attacked by a zombie dog,” Daniel countered.

Edward got the point.

With the fires out, Billy was observing the few intact leech corpses. “They are huge. But why are they here? I thought they only lived in swamps.”

“Not necessarily,” Rebecca explained. “Their only real preferences are fresh-water bodies of water. The real question is why are these mutated leeches on this train?”

Before anyone had a chance to answer her, a singing voice drifted softly into their ears. Everyone looked about confused until they realized that it was coming from outside the train. They walked over to the windows and gazed into the darkness. Lightning briefly lit the environment. And in those quick flashes, they could make out a figure standing on a nearby hill. The person was garbed in a white, single-piece of clothing, looking suspiciously like a gown. The storm didn’t seem to faze the figure, who continued to sing in a high soprano.

“Oh my God,” Rebecca whispered. “He’s surrounded.”

“By what?” Billy wondered and then he saw them. Leeches, hundreds of them. All of them approached the gowned individual who seemed not to notice them. Another flash gave them a clearer look at the person’s face. They could barely make out the face, which looked masculine. This man had light-colored hair and piercing eyes that were locked onto them. “Who **is** that guy?”

The small group was in for another surprise. Without a warning, there was a jerk as the train started to move. “What the hell!” Edward exclaimed. He turned to Daniel. "I thought you said the door to the control room was locked?"

"It was,” Daniel repeated, “unless someone found the card key and unlocked the door."

“But who would start the train?” Rebecca wondered aloud.

"We need to get to the engine car." Billy warned them. “Before anything else happens.”

Edward grunted in agreement. “Let’s go.”

"Wait. Someone might’ve only entered the engine car from the outside while the train was still. The door might still be locked." Daniel argued. “We should only send a couple of people to check, while we finish checking this car.”

“I won’t let him out of my sight,” Edward reiterated, gesturing at Billy.

“We can’t finish searching this car, until power is restored to the automatic door downstairs. The power supply is on top of this car. We’ll need someone to get up there to fix it. And I doubt either of us,” he pointed at himself and Rebecca. “Can get it done.”

Edward seethed at this latest problem, all the while glaring at Billy. Billy was indifferent, looking towards the roof and then to the window at the back. He walked over to the rear window and saw the ladder leading up onto the car. “I can do it.”

Edward made no reply. “Don’t worry I can handle him,” Rebecca insisted.

Edward frowned. “No offense, Rebecca, but you’re still just a rookie.”

“She’ll have me to help,” Daniel added.

“Great, two babysitters instead of one,” Billy muttered.

Edward hesitated for a moment before addressing Daniel. “If he tries **anything** , shoot him.”

“Understood.”

Edward shot one last dark look at Billy before heading downstairs. Billy began climbing the ladder, leaving Daniel and Rebecca alone in the car. She tried to open the door in the corner of the floor, but after struggling with it for a few seconds before declaring, “It’s jammed.”

She sighed. “So, remind me, how did you and your friends end up out here? The forest is closed to civilians.”

Daniel was uncomfortable where this was going. The last thing he wanted was somebody to start digging into his cover story. But that didn’t stop him from repeating it to her.

“What a terrible way to end a vacation,” she said.

“Agreed.” Before she could ask another question, he decided to take the initiative. “So, why did you join STARS? I hear it’s an elite police unit.”

“It is,” she answered proudly. “We’re the finest officers in the RPD, the Raccoon Police Department. As for my reason for joining, it’s pretty standard. I always wanted to be in law enforcement since I was little. My uncle died in the line of duty, so there’s also that.”

“Oh! Sorry to hear that,” he replied, genuinely surprised. _Capcom never really explored her character, now that I think about it._

Rebecca smiled, with just a tinge of sadness. “It’s okay. I’m over it now. It happened several years ago, right before STARS was created. You actually look a little like him.” Her eyes began to become unfocused as she drifted into old memories. But before she could go into detail, there was a loud thud from behind the locked door.

Edward

_I need to wrap this up quickly. The longer I’m gone, the more chances that monster will have to kill Rebecca and Sims._ Images filled his mind, all involving Rebecca. Although it was true that STARS needed someone with her talents, Edward and pretty much everyone else had been surprised when Captain Wesker approved her application to the STARS unit. She was so young and inexperienced. The thought urged him to move faster. In seconds, he was back with the others.

“Hey, did you see that woman out there with those weird slugs earlier?” Jessica asked him as he entered the car.

“I still think it was a guy,” Kevin argued.

“Oh come on. I mean some guys can get pretty girly, but a gown?”

“Never mind that,” Edward interrupted. “Private Askew, I need you to come with me and check to see if the engine car is accessible.”

The brown-skinned girl nodded and sat up from her seat.

“Wait! What about me?” Jessica cried.

“You’re staying here with Kevin and the civilians,” he explained.

“Like hell I am! Now that we’re moving, the chances of anything else attacking us from outside is none. I’m not babysitting these guys any longer!” She declared.

Edward did **not** want the hyperactive teenager coming with him, especially armed. But the clock was ticking and Rebecca was going to spend more time with the convict if this argument continued. “Fine, move!”

“Yay!” And with that, she tore off running toward their destination, as Edward and Shantia scrambled after her.

In the next car, two more bodies reanimated. But before either Edward or Shantia could get a shot off, Jessica plugged two slugs into their craniums. The zombies collapsed to the floor. Despite his first impression, Edward’s respect for the cowgirl jumped a few points. The car cleared, they made their exit. Nothing stood between them and the door as they ran down the hallway. But when Edward checked the door, it still refused to open. “Damn it!”

Billy

Walking on top of a moving train is difficult. Walking on top of a train during a pouring rainstorm was in a class all on its own. _Still, I’d rather be doing this than fighting any more zombies by myself._ Billy thought to himself as he cautiously crawled to the other side, raindrops stinging him all the while. Though it took quite a bit of concentration to make sure he didn’t slip, Billy was still able to wonder about his new comrades in his quest for survival. Edward obviously hated him. _Just another fringe benefit from my false conviction._ The girl (Rebecca, wasn’t it?), despite her attempts at bravado, seemed to be okay with working with him, reluctantly, but still. The other guy, on the other hand, didn’t have a problem with him in the least. _He’s either really stupid or he has a clear understanding of the gravity of our situation._ Billy wasn’t sure which was true. Before he could evaluate the others, he arrived at the generator just past a hole in the car’s roof.

The generator was nothing more than a small metal box attached to the train. A portion of the protective shell was gone. With easy access to the generator’s innards, he immediately identified the power problem. One of the cables was disconnected. He easily reconnected the two halves. As he was about to head back, he noticed a clear liquid rising from within the generator. “Hmm?”

Suddenly, the “liquid” leaped at him in the form of leeches! “Woah!” He shouted as he stumbled backwards sliding on the slick metal, straight into the hole. He landed with a heavy thud. Billy groaned as he stood up.

“Hello?” A feminine voice called from the nearby room.

“It’s me,” Billy replied.

“What happened?” A masculine voice asked.

“Ran into some of your leeches.” He was now in a small room filled with wall cabinets and counters. He would have said it was the kitchen if it weren’t for the lack of a fridge or stove or any other such appliances. In the back of the room was a small elevator. “It looks like I’m in the waiter’s station.” He could easily imagine food being sent to the room via elevator into the waiting waiter’s hands. On one of the counters was a green plant in a pot…and a box of ammo. _Strange_ , Billy thought as he picked it up. He then noticed a key next to it. It was on a rag with a tag reading “Conductor’s Cabin.”

“Can you open the door from your side?” The girl, Rebecca questioned.

After shaking the door handle, Billy discovered he couldn’t. “No.” His eyes focused on the pass-through and its wooden shutters. Sims started to say something, but it was cut off when Billy delivered a powerful kick against the shutters. The shutters crashed open as his foot connected. The new hole wasn’t big, but it was large enough for him to get through. It was a tight fit, but he crawled through and joined the others. Sims’s face showed open surprise, while Rebecca’s showed concern. _What’s wrong with him? He already knows I’m a marine. Did he actually think that flimsy shutter was going to keep me in?_ Billy was now leaning toward the “stupid” interpretation of the soldier.

 _What the heck!? He was supposed to be in there until we found the ice pick and came back to un-jam the door. So much for THAT portion of the video game._ Daniel thought to himself. _And now there’s no point to the item elevator. Well, I guess this is a good thing._ But even as he thought that, Daniel hoped that this didn’t mean he wouldn’t be able to predict future events.

Rebecca glanced through the now open pass-through and spotted the plant. “Oh! An herb.” She went through the pass-through to retrieve it.

“What? What about it?” Billy wondered.

“It has medicinal properties,” Daniel clarified.

 _How does he know that? Okay, maybe he isn’t stupid_. _But what’s with the uniform? I’ve never seen anything like it,_ Billy thought.

“You’re right,” Rebecca replied as she came back with the green herb. “Are you a medic?”

“No, I was supposed to be a transportation specialist,” Daniel answered.

“A transportation specialist?” Rebecca inquired.

“A truck driver,” Billy chimed in. “But what do you mean, ‘supposed to be’? Haven’t you finished your training?”

 _…don’t like where this conversation is going._ However, Daniel said, “I’m part of the ‘split-ops’ program. I do one half of my training in the summer, and finish it up in the next one. I’ve only finished the first half.”

“Why is your training split into halves?” Billy pressed. _And why haven’t I heard of it?_

“I’ll tell you later.” Daniel offered, “For now, we need to finish our search.”

Rebecca nodded in agreement; Billy, however, grudgingly accepted the soldier’s evasion. _There’s something strange about him,_ he decided.

The three of them trudged downstairs. The once-red light above the electronic door was now glowing green, beckoning people to enter. This group of people were more than happy to oblige it. With a swish, the automatic door opened.

They were now in the kitchen. Daniel and Rebecca regretted entering the room. Thanks to the disaster, food had been left to burn on the stove, dirty dishes clogged the sink, and an ominous stench emanated from the fridge. There was another door at the back of the room. Since there was no one to save in the kitchen, they headed for the door.

A plaque on the door read “Freight Car”, below a window in the door. The window was covered by a roller blind, blinding them to the other room. When Billy found that the door was locked, he took his handgun and slammed it against the glass. Unable to take the stress, the window shattered inwards. _And now we don’t need the panel opener either. What else are we going to end up skipping?_ Daniel pondered.

But as Billy triggered the blind to roll up, a snarling, dog’s snout lunged at him. He jumped back, cutting his arm on the glass. Rebecca let out a screech. Daniel, who knew about the z-dogs (even if he hadn’t expected the dramatic surprise), quickly aimed and popped off a round that pierced the monster’s skull. The z-dog yelped and fell back into the room, only for another one to come flying through the vacant hole.

By now, Billy and Rebecca had recovered their wits, firing on the dog as it landed on their side of the doorway. The beast found itself caught in a three-way gauntlet of hot lead. It soon expired under the combined assaults.

With the fight over, Billy added another mental note to Sims’s profile: _Kid does well in combat._

“Here, let me fix that for you.” Rebecca grabbed Billy’s cut arm and applied the green herb directly to his injury. Within moments, the bleeding stopped.

 _So that’s how herbs work in real life,_ Daniel noted.

“Thanks.” Billy glanced at Daniel. “Not bad.”

Daniel nodded, but could still feel his heart going at ninety-miles an hour. And, when the fridge burst open and loosed a rampaging zombie, his heart rate doubled. Unfortunately, Billy was in right in its charge and was facing the opposite direction.

It lunged and grabbed onto the marine. Already well aware of the consequences, Billy did everything he could to keep it from biting him. Daniel was already reacting and was about to pull the trigger when he realized something. _My rifle still isn’t zeroed. I might hit him._

Rebecca, due to her lack of practice and training, didn’t dare take a shot either. Billy desperately tried to shake it loose by slamming it against the back wall. The zombie wasn’t even fazed. But as it leaned down to take its first bite, it was rudely interrupted by a rifle round fired at point blank range. The shell went straight through its head, taking a chunk of its rear skull with it.

Billy let out a sigh of relief as the double-deceased body slid to the ground. “I thought you had a clear shot from the get go?” Billy asked Daniel.

“I didn’t. My rifle hasn’t been adjusted to my eyes. I might have hit you,” Daniel responded as he defended himself.

“Maybe you should have paid more attention at Basic,” Billy growled.

“They never taught us,” Daniel replied acidly.

“Well, I see the Army standards are as high as ever,” the marine grunted.

But before Daniel could counter, Rebecca interrupted, “Come on! Let’s finish checking this room and get back to the others.”

The men relented. After clearing the rest of the glass away, Billy unlocked the door. The Freight room contained boxes, crates, cages to the rear of the car, and a can of gasoline. But there was no sign of anyone, living or undead. Daniel walked into the room, making a show of scanning it.

“Let’s go, there’s no one here,” Billy stated.

 _It might end up being pointless, but it can’t hurt to get the ring._ Daniel glanced into one of the cages before pulling out a small, gold ring.

Billy raised an eyebrow. “I know the owner is probably dead, but we really should avoid stealing.”

Rebecca shot the convicted murderer. “Why do you care?”

Billy glared at her for a moment before deciding to avoid the topic.

“It’s a strange ring. With these indentations, wearing it must hurt,” Daniel observed.

Billy, confused by his observation, walked up to him and Rebecca for a better look. Daniel was right. On opposite sides were three points on the inside of the ring. “Even so, best to leave it alone.”

He was ignored when Daniel pocketed it. Billy chose to ignore the slight and said, “Come on.”

Daniel glanced at the back door. _Should I go ahead and get the hookshot now? Sure, it’ll save time, but it’s going to look awfully suspicious. And I don’t know when we’ll crash into the training facility. But we’re already skipping two parts of the game’s level. So, I think it’ll be okay in the end._ So, against his better judgment, Daniel and Rebecca left to catch up to Billy. Then the back door began to rattle. The three of them traded looks.

“Hello?” Rebecca called out.

There was no answer other than the continued beating. Billy and Daniel both entered into firing poses, with Billy standing and Daniel kneeling. The door burst open. A figure spilled inward onto the floor. From its poor motor skills to its eerie groan, there was no doubt that it was a zombie. Since Daniel was closest to it, Billy decided he should take care of it. The blonde-haired soldier waited for the zombie to stand up, giving him the best shot.

But when it finished collecting itself from the floor, realization crashed into him. “Oh no,” he whispered. The walking corpse was covered in mud and blood, but he still identified it: Bart. _I thought Jessica took care of him? He must’ve climbed back on board!_ Logic ordered him to fire. But he found that he couldn’t pull the trigger. The new zombie ambled towards him. _He’s going to eat us, shoot!_ His mind roared at him. But his finger refused to bend.

What was once Bart was only a step away from him, a handgun fired. The round hit the undead right between the eyes. “What the hell was that?” Billy demanded as he walked up to Daniel. The green-eyes teenager said nothing, only gazing at the fallen body. The ex-lieutenant was about to shout when he finally made the connection. _The uniforms, they’re the same._

Rebecca, already guessing this part of the story, laid a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “This was your friend?”

Quietly, Daniel knelt down and closed the lids over the milky-white eyes. “He was.”

Billy spotted a knife on top of one of the crates. He grabbed and offered it to the soldier. “Losing a friend is hard, but you need to be prepared to do what is necessary,” the ex-marine warned the soldier.

Daniel stared at it for a moment before taking it.

“Put it in your boot,” Billy advised.

Daniel nodded and did so. Then he stepped back from the body, turned around, and walked back to the others. Billy and Rebecca silently followed.

They entered the car just as Edward was about to open their door. He scanned Daniel and Rebecca. Satisfied with their well-being, he relaxed. “Find anyone?”

“Not alive,” Billy answered. “What about the engine car?”

Edward’s frown was back, but he replied, “Still inaccessible. And, unless you found the card key back there, we’re stuck.”

“I didn’t find a card key, however,” Billy pulled out the key ring, “I found this earlier. It’s for the Conductor’s cabin.”

“Well, I guess it’s better than nothing.” Edward pointed at Rebecca and Shantia. “You two come with me. We’ll check the cabin. Everyone else, stay put.”

“What?” Daniel and Jessica demanded.

“I don’t need more than three people. After all, we’re only searching one room,” Edward argued. He held his hand out to Billy, who relinquished the key.

Daniel thought about the cabin. _Which just happens to have a hidden ladder leading to the second floor. Wait the second floor!_ “Alright then,” Daniel conceded.

“What? I thought you were going to be on my side!” Jessica pestered. Edward nodded a silent word of thanks before leaving with his team. The cowgirl glared at the green-eyed soldier.

“Okay, Jessica, Billy, you’re with me.”

“What?” Billy and Jessica responded.

“There’s a stairway in the next car to the second floor. Edward seems to have forgotten about it. We should check it out.”

Jessica grinned. “Agreed.”

“Fine.” _Not like I’m going to be doing anything here._

“You really shouldn’t undercut his authority like that,” Kevin warned Daniel.

“I’m not. I just happened to remember that there’s a part of the train in need of searching,” Daniel countered. Kevin grunted unhappily, leaving it at that.

Edward, Shantia, and Rebecca

As the team made their way through the next cabin, Edward glanced at the stairway in the corner. “We’ll check that after we’re finished with the room.” The two women nodded in agreement. As they were about to exit, another body reanimated.

Shantia, who was the last one, aimed and fired. Only to see the bullet pierce its cheek without killing it. “Damn it.”

Edward followed up with a successful shot. “What’s wrong?”

“The sights haven’t been adjusted for my eyes,” she explained.

“At that range, the problem is probably both the sight and your aim. Do you know how to adjust it?”

“I don’t,” the raven-haired girl confessed.

“Well, I’m no specialist, but I think I can help with that.” After fiddling with the sights for a bit, Edward returned the rifle back to her. "That should do it."

“Thanks.”

"No problem."

The rest of their walk was uneventful. Just past the luggage mountain was the locked door. Edward unlocked it and they entered. The small room was trashed. Papers, documents, and files were littered everywhere. A green and red plant sat on the only window’s sill. A map of the train was posted on the wall to their right. In the corner opposite the door, a closet stood partially opened. While Rebecca went to work on collecting and mixing the green and red herbs on the window sill, Edward started going through the papers, and Shantia checked the closet.

Most of the papers turned out to be nothing more than schedules and work-related material. Edward folded and pocketed the more important-looking ones. _Could be helpful for our investigation._ Then his eyes spied one scrap of paper on the floor. He picked it up and was intrigued by its contents.

“Looks like the key card is in the Conductor’s bag,” Edward announced.

“Like this?” The others turned and saw Shantia holding up a small, brown briefcase with a strange-looking lock featuring two circle indentations. She shook it and everyone could hear a light object shuffling around inside.

“Yeah. This note says it needs two keys to unlock it. Special ones.” Edward took a closer look at the briefcase, especially the lock. “It is different than most.”

As Shantia was observing the briefcase, her eyes were drawn to a beeping, red light over Edward’s shoulder. When she stepped around the other two, she saw that it was a button next to the door. Her finger moved to press it, paused, then pressed it. _I know this is all supposed to be a horror series, but it’s not like there would be a self-destruct bomb on the train…right?_

To her delight, no explosions happened. Instead a panel on the ceiling opened. From it, a ladder descended. “Nice work,” Edward commented. “I’ll go first. Rebecca, after me with Shantia after Rebecca.” He didn’t wait for any form of acknowledgement before ascending up the metal rungs.

Daniel, Billy, and Jessica

“Oh shit,” Jessica muttered.

The group was at the end of a hallway next to the stairs. The hallway was decorated with pink and brown square-patterned carpet, was well-lit, and even had an antique phone sitting on a cabinet. But the rest of the hallway was blocked off by a huge mass of gooey leech eggs. And as she stared at the eggs, she realized that they were made of a clear substance, giving them a good look at the leeches within. A constant squishing sound continued as the eggs grew.

“They’re almost finished,” Billy observed. “We need to kill them.”

“I completely agree,” Daniel began, “but how? I don’t think we can start a fire here, it’s too wet.”

“Then we squish them.” Billy grabbed one of the corner tables, flipped it over to its flat side, and began pounding the eggs into goo.

“Ugh, this is just disgusting,” Jessica complained before grabbing another small piece of furniture and joined Billy. Daniel grabbed the last piece and aided in their endeavor.

Edward, Shantia, and Rebecca

The ladder led to a bar room. Unlike the rest of the rooms, this one filled the entire upper floor of the car. The bar itself only occupied a third of the room. The other two thirds was made mostly of empty space with comfortable chairs and sofas sitting next to the windows. Bottles of vintage wine sat on shelves behind the bar. Their new-found entrance opened on the edge of the bar, almost at the end of the car.

Edward whistled. “Pretty fancy.”

“Who owns this train?” Shantia wondered aloud.

“It’s probably Umbrella’s,” Rebecca answered as she finished climbing off the ladder.

“Umbrella?” Shantia remembered Daniel mentioning something about them, but she was having trouble remembering the specifics.

Rebecca gave her confused look, but continued, “They’re a huge corporation dealing in pharmaceuticals. They practically made Raccoon City, but their HQ is in Paris. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of them. They’re the only ones who can afford a private train like this.”

“The bigger question is,” Edward said, hijacking the conversation. “Why does Umbrella have a train in Raccoon Forest? Everybody knows about the murders.”

“I think that they had an investigation unit on the train. They were heading for a research facility in the mountains,” Rebecca explained.

Edward shot her a bewildered look. “How do you know that?”

“I found these files in a couple of the passenger cabins,” the medic pulled out a diary and a sheet of paper for the older cop to see.

He quickly reviewed the files and agreed with her. “Suspicious. I would really like to know why they feel it’s so important to send an investigations team just to check-up an old lab, which happens to be dead center in these cannibal woods. Let’s keep moving.”

As the team stepped around the bar and toward the door, an insectoid rattle thundered from above them. Each one of them trained their weapons on the spot. “What the hell was that?” Shantia asked rhetorically.

“Don’t know. Don’t want to stay here and find out,” Rebecca admitted.

“Agreed, let’s move.”

Quickly and quietly, they edged toward the door. But just as Rebecca reached out a hand to turn the handle, there was a thud. To their horror, a giant claw had pierced the roof!

“Let’s bolt!” Shantia declared.

“We can’t,” Edward argued. “With its strength, it’ll tear the train up!” Despite his logic, Edward would very much rather be anywhere else, especially when a giant scorpion crashed through the roof.

“Holy shit!” Shantia screamed.

“Open fire!” Edward roared as he squeezed the trigger.

With another insect roar, the scorpion advanced toward them. The incoming hail of lead bouncing off its main carapace.

“Aim for the head!” Rebecca warned them. Armed with this knowledge, the scorpion’s slow advance was finally stopped. When several rounds struck its face, it let out another screech. Its massive claws, usually meant for offense became the perfect shields as it folded them in front of its sole weak point. It skittered backward for a moment before wildly swinging its deadly tail forward. As it lunged forward, it threw its claws forward in what would have been damaging blow.

Fortunately for the humans, it was too far away to hit anyone. And a cycle was born when they fired into its hardened skull. After scoring a few hits, the scorpion would resort to its claws for defense and lunge forward with its tail.

In time, someone would have scored the killing shot and ended this dance. But even when it withdrew, its subsequent charge slowly closed the distance between the two sides.

“Why won’t it die!” Shantia screamed after the fifth charge. By now, its “head” was a mess of holes and green blood. But it refused to succumb to their best efforts to kill it. And glancing between the monster and the door, the high school student was painfully aware of the mere feet that was to be their safe zone.

“Shantia!” Rebecca shouted.

The soldier turned around to see that, now that the distance between it and its prey was thin, the scorpion changed tactics. Its tail was reared back like a slingshot. Time seemed to slow down as the tail shot forward. The ebony-skinned teenager ducked and could feel a whoosh as the stinger narrowly missed her. Now she was face-to-face with the giant arachnid. Before it had a chance to attack, she jumped back, tripping on one of the chairs. Rebecca, momentarily forgetting the extent of the situation, rushed to help Shantia.

“Rebecca, no!” Edward cried. In her zeal to help her friend, Rebecca had ran straight into the monster’s path. It pulled its claw left and thrust it forward. Edward, moving out of instinct, jumped in front of his teammate. The blow sent him flying into the wall. Rebecca was struck by Edward’s body, but fell to the floor no more than an inch away from the beast.

When she looked up, she was eye-to-eye with its hideous skull. Horror-filled, Rebecca watched the tail rear back. _I’m going to die!_ She wailed.

Her view was suddenly blocked. For a moment, she thought she fainted. Then her ears were ringing as a shotgun and an assault rifle fired in the same moment. There was a screech as the monster was pushed back.

No longer terrified, Rebecca finally processed what, better yet who, was standing in front of her. Two men were now shielding her from death. On the left, the figure wore a camouflaged outfit, revealing that it was Daniel. The right guy was wearing a familiar blue wife-beater and jeans combo. _It’s Billy!_ She realized with a start.

Beyond the two, she heard crashing and garbled screeching. Then the noise ended with a loud thud. Seconds passed. The silence was broken by a voice behind Rebecca. “So, how long are you going to just sit on your ass?”

Rebecca turned around. Standing in the open doorway was Jessica wielding two handguns. A grin was plastered on her face as she waited for Rebecca’s reaction. Realizing that the danger was over, the rookie cop speedily climbed to her feet.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t get here sooner,” Daniel began as he addressed them. “We were dealing with another situation.”

“You should have seen it!” Jessica declared. “There were leech eggs in the hallway,” she said, nodding her head to the hallway behind her. “Hundreds of those little suckers.” She directed her grin at her friend.

“Oh, hardy har har,” Daniel “laughed” which soon became an old man’s wheezing.

“Shut the hell up!” Jessica admonished, her grin never disappearing. “We were in the middle of smooshing them when the rest started to hatch.” She shuddered. “We had to duck into the passenger rooms and stomp on them one at a time. Took forever,” she continued, groaning. Her expression lightened up almost instantly. “But we found a shotgun for our troubles.” She pointed at Billy.

The fugitive, satisfied that the creature was truly dead, only now turned around, giving Rebecca a clear look at his new weapon. _That explains why she has two handguns. The other one is Billy’s._ “You let him take it?”

“Well, I thought about grabbin’ it fer myself, but I think I can rack up more kills this way,” the cowgirl clarified. Everyone’s gaze locked onto her after hearing that. “….what?”

“Anyway,” Daniel interrupted, “we also found these.” The soldier dug a few herbs out of one his larger pants' pocket. “Thought you might want them.” He finished, handing the items to Rebecca. _Along with the silver ring,_ he thought to himself, his mind picturing his left chest pocket where both rings were now stored.

She smiled at him. “These’ll come in handy later on. Thank you and thanks for saving my life,” she paused and addressed both Daniel and Billy. “Both of you.” Billy shrugged it off and was more concerned with the huge corpse filling the room.

Daniel smiled. “No problem. I guess we’re now even.”

“Even?” she answered confused.

“Yeah, you saved my life with the z-dogs and now I saved your life here,” he patiently reminded her.

“Oh! Yeah, you-“

She started only to be cut off by a wailing, “NOOOOOOO!”

Everyone once again directed their gaze at Jessica. “What!?” Several of them asked at the same time.

“Not the alcohol!” The teenager cried, running over to the ruined bar. “Damn you giant scorpion!” She roared charging at the dead creature. She kicked it a few times.

“….” Summed up the rest of their reactions, well, most of their reactions.

“You don’t seem to be surprised by the fact that there is a giant scorpion,” Billy pointed out.

Jessica shot him a well-duh-look. “Think about it. If there are such things as zombies and zombie dogs, than why not giant insects? Heck, why not vampires?”

Edward, despite only being in Jessica’s presence for a short while, was under the impression that this was normal for her. _She may be strange, but her behavior matches it. That’s not what’s bothering me._ He gazed at Daniel. _I’ve been watching all three of them. Billy is the only one who seems to be surprised by this big bug. Private Sims, on the other hand, hasn’t even done so much as a double take. There’s something weird about him._ The STARS member thought about Daniel’s easy acceptance of Billy’s help. _In fact, he actually brought him along to search the second floor. Is he stupid?_ He shook his head. It just wasn’t making sense at all. And no matter what, Sims wasn’t the danger here. Edward’s eyes focused on Billy. “Why did you jump in front of Rebecca?”

Billy met Edward’s cool gaze with a similar one. “Simple. The shotgun’s most effective range is up close and personal.”

“You could’ve waited until after the scorpion killed her. That would have been one less cop to worry about,” the Bravo team member pointed out.

“Yeah, but my goal is to survive,” the con man countered. “And the best way to guarantee it, is by keeping everyone alive and working together.”

Edward grunted. “Did you find anything worthwhile back there?”

While those two started trading information, Daniel and Shantia walked over to the mourning Jessica. “You know, I could’ve used a warning,” Shantia argued quietly, but fiercely.

“I’m sorry,” Daniel replied. “I know that you three were going to run into it. That’s why I brought Jessica and Billy with me to 'check' the upper level. To be honest, I’m surprised we got through at all. Couldn’t do that in the game.”

“You mean, you couldn’t just, I don’t know, walk on the eggs?” Jessica asked, her mood jumping from wailing to sarcasm.

“No. The games weren’t…didn’t exactly offer a lot of freedom in actions,” Daniel explained.

“Well then, you better make sure you don’t forget that this isn’t just a video game,” Shantia warned him. “Where’s this train headed?”

Daniel glanced at the others who were still deep in discussion. “An Umbrella training facility. This train is eventually going to crash into a barrier in an underground tunnel below the facility. We need to warn the others to duck and cover when we enter the tunnel.”

“Shouldn’t we try avoiding that?” Jessica suggested.

“I don’t know if it’s possible. I do want to see if we can’t at least limit the damage, but we need to move quickly. I can get the card key, but I need someone to get the hookshot,” the male soldier responded.

“And you’re sure we need this hookshot?” Shantia questioned. “And while I’m asking, how safe is the facility?”

He was about to say “yes”, however he thought of it over, in lieu of their ability to circumvent some of the game’s barriers. _We don’t need to use it here on the train. I don’t think we’ll need to use it at the church if we can just force the gate open. That leaves the hole in the facility below the church. Wait, the first hole doesn’t have any way around it._ “Yes, we will need it for later. I want you two to get it. It’s at the back of the train. It’s in a security system that requires one person to unlock it, and the other to grab it before it resets.”

“What kind of funky security system is that?” Jessica wondered. “Better yet, why does a hookshot, of all things, need that kind of security?”

“You better get used to it. We’re going to run into that kind of crap all the time from here on out,” Daniel predicted. He turned to Shantia. “Honestly, not safe at all. Except for the main hall, the place is crawling with monsters.”

“Well, shit,” was Jessica’s succint reply.

“What about you?” Shantia put in.

“I’ll help them get the card key. We’ll go the engine car and stop the train. As soon as you two are done, join the others. And if you see us enter a tunnel, duck and cover.”

“Got it,” the female soldier answered. The two of them stood up and descended down the ladder to accomplish their task.

Daniel was going to join the others when he did a double take in his friends’ direction. _Is it me or did something happen to Jessica’s stomach?_ He shrugged it off. Billy and Edward were now discussing the briefcase Edward found.

Rebecca watched as the blond-haired teenager walked up to them. “Where are they going?”

“They’re going to re-join the others since we’re at a dead end,” Daniel covered, a twinge of guilt settling on his back. “What’s going on here?”

She sighed. “They can’t open it. And there isn’t a keyhole.”

Daniel paused. “Can I look at it?”

Edward looked at him. “Sure, knock yourself out.”

Billy chuckled. “Think you can get it open? It’d be easier if you would just let me use my knife.”

“No,” Edward insisted.

“Huh, these holes look familiar,” Daniel declared.

“They do?” The men asked.

Without another word, the young man pulled out the two rings he had. One by one, he placed them into the lock’s indentions. And with a click, the briefcase was unlocked.

“You did it,” Rebecca announced.

“Where did you find those?” Edward wanted to know.

Billy eyes narrowed. “Where did you find the other one?”

“Earlier,” Daniel commented. He flipped open the cover and pulled out a key card.

Jessica and Shantia

As Shantia finished her descent, her ears caught an unusual sound. _Was that a cork popping?_ When she faced toward Jessica, she found the source of the noise. Jessica had found an untouched bottle of wine. With it opened, she brought it to her lips and threw her head back as she began to drink. “JESSICA!”


	5. Train Crash

“Where’d ya get that bottle!?” Shantia demanded.

Jessica grinned. “It was the only survivor. So, I took it upon myself to save it.” She took another swig.

The soldier lunged toward the cowgirl. The brunette’s reply was deftly dodging the incoming soldier. Shantia slipped on some of the papers and went crashing into the wall. Jessica snorted then burst out guffawing. The raven-haired teenager growled as she climbed to her feet. Jessica tried to take another swig, but couldn’t stop laughing and ended up spelling the drink all over her blue jacket. This only added to the hilarity, at least from Jessica’s point of view.

Seeing that she was distracted, Alica’s arm snapped out and grabbed the bottle. Jessica, who was not as drunk as Shantia thought, immediately stopped laughing and started glaring. “Gimme me drink back!”

Shantia’s reply was simple and final. She tossed the bottle out the window.

Jessica howled as she made a futile dive for the beverage. For a few seconds, she stood next to the window, her arm waving out the window, as if she could summon the bottle back to her hand. Finally, she whirled around and glared at Shantia. “I **will** steal your SOUL for this!”

The soldier was unimpressed. “Come on. We have a job to do.” She left the room with a glum Jessica trailing behind her.

Billy, Edward, Rebecca & Daniel

Daniel was becoming uncomfortable as he was assaulted by three confused stares. He was momentarily relieved of this when all attention shifted to the hatch leading to the conductor’s cabin. Shantia was yelling about something, but the tone was more of frustration rather than danger. Their curiosity only lasted a few seconds before they were all peering at Daniel again. “Is there something wrong?” He tentatively asked, already well aware of the issue.

Edward and Rebecca glanced between each other. “No,” she began. “It’s just a little strange that you would happen to have two rings that would open this particular briefcase.”

“I already mentioned that there was something strange about them.” Daniel turned to Billy for support. “Didn’t I?”

“You did,” the ex-marine nodded, though he was just as suspicious, if not more so than the two police officers.

Their conversation was interrupted by loud noises (and voices) coming from the hatch. For a moment, everyone on the upper floor paused as they listened to the struggle that eventually ended with Jessica’s declaration.

Their entertainment gone, the conversation continued. “But it's a little odd how you assumed that these rings would be so special that you had to pick them up. I mean, it's as if you knew that we would need them just for this situation.” Rebecca pressed again.

Daniel’s discomfort only grew. _Oh well that's because I’m a dimensional traveler and I can see the future. Wonder how’d they react to **that**_? “What’s with the interrogation? We have the card key and we’re still on a runaway train. Shouldn’t we be focusing on that problem?”

Rebecca and Edward seemed reluctant to end the conversation, but something happened that threw weight into Daniel’s argument. From the front of the train, the roar of automatic gunfire exploded in the air. Everyone froze before rushing towards the noise. The cacophony lasted a few more moments before dying out as they reached the door leading to the locomotive. Daniel swiped the card key and the electronic lock relinquished its hold over the door. Edward threw the door open, and was rewarded for his efforts by a gust of wind mixed with the downpour thrown into his face.

As the group ran into the foul weather, they found the source of the gunfire. Two bodies were lying on the path. Both were dressed in gray fatigues with armored vests, combat helmets, and gas masks. In the poor visibility, nobody could see what caused their deaths. Their only clue was a layer of slime left on the bodies. “Who are they?” Edward wondered, nearly shouting to be heard.

“Let’s just get to the engine car,” Daniel replied, peeking uneasily toward the tracks. Technically, they should have plenty of time before they hit the facility...technically. It was a small compartment that wasn’t comfortable fitting four bodies in the same space. Four window wipers were hard at work keeping the rain from eliminating vision. Two chairs sat in front of a large console that stretched from one wall to the other.

“Wait.” Billy grabbed the two submachine guns and any spare ammo he could find on the bodies before joining them in the engine car.

“Good thinking,” Edward uncharacteristically praised before reaching up with an open palm. “Now hand them over.”

Billy dropped one of the weapons in the STARS’ hand.

Edward glared dangerously at the fugitive. “And the other.”

“I’m keeping it. Unless you can find someone else who knows how to operate it,” Billy amended as he gestured to Daniel and Rebecca. To which the blond high school student countered by pointing at his M16.

“Oh no,” Rebecca muttered as her eyes scanned the red letters on display.

“Um guys,” Daniel interrupted, turning around to face the consoles. “We have a bigger problem.”

The older men turned to the teenagers. “What is it?” Edward asked.

Rebecca pointed at one of the readouts. “We’re going to hit the next stop at full speed in less than six minutes.”

“Alright, let’s slow us down and hit the brakes,” Billy suggested.

“We can’t,” Daniel retorted worriedly. “The controls are locked. We only have access to the emergency brakes.”

“Well, activate them,” Edward ordered.

“We can’t. At least, not right away,” Rebecca announced. A manual was in her hands. “According to this, the brakes are also locked. To unlock it, we need to input a key code here and a console all the way in the last car.”

“We can't unlock the controls here?” Billy asked confused.

Daniel shook his head and gestured to the controls. “No go. Unlike the emergency brakes, the rest of the controls are password-protected. It could be anything!”

Edward growled. “Okay, then let’s get to work unlocking the emergency brakes. Do you know what’s the number for the rear lock?”

Rebecca and Daniel traded glances. “The lock is in the form of a mathematical equation,” the medic slowly explained. “You need to input enough numbers that add up to the number displayed.”

The looks on Edward’s and Billy’s faces were priceless. If not for the fact that they were on a runaway train careening toward their deaths, Daniel would have laughed out loud. Billy was the first one to shake off his incredulity. “Fine. I’ll head there now.”

“Not alone,” Edward warned.

“Well then, move it,” Billy retorted as he raced out of the door.

"Edward, you'll need this," Daniel announced, holding up a magnetic card. "It'll unlock the security system for the brakes."

"Damn, convoluted..." Edward murmured as he took off after Billy, scowling all the way.

Rebecca groaned and glanced back at the digital readouts. “I hope they hurry and don’t get into a fight.”

“I doubt it. They may bicker, but they know when it's time to get the job done,” Daniel encouraged, completely confident in his observation.

She peered at him. “I don’t understand why you place so much faith in him.”

“Edward?” Daniel said in a vain attempt to throw her off-track.

Rebecca answered with a who-do-you-think look.

Daniel sighed and decided to capitulate. “What about it?”

“He’s a mass murderer. You heard the body count. Twenty-three people! And yet, you keep giving him opportunities to slit your throat. Why?” She demanded, though only half-heartedly. She hadn't forgotten about the giant scorpion.

“You heard him. He is willing to help us to survive,” he offered as an explanation, sounding very naive, even to his own ears.

“And you believed him? Just like that?” She said bewildered.

“He has his priorities straight,” Daniel pointed out.

“And what’s stopping him from murdering us when we’re safe?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps the fact that we outnumber him 10 to 1?” He commented dryly.

Rebecca huffed, and while in 'eager rookie' mode, barked, “It’s that kind of overconfidence that’s going to get us all killed.”

“You would know, wouldn’t you?” Daniel snapped. He quickly realized his slight, and added, “Sorry.”

Rebecca bit down another retort. She took a breath and nodded. “It’s been a rough night.”

“Without a doubt. Worse, it's only just starting,” the soldier agreed. He glanced at the readings again. They still had four minutes before it would be too late. _Plenty of time….plenty of time._ He began to tap his foot on the ground.

He wasn't the only uneasy one. Rebecca crossed her arms and tried not to look at the speedometer. "Sooo, why did you join the Army?"

"Money."

She blinked. "That's it?"

Daniel leaned against the wall. "Needed a way to pay for college, and the Army was more than happy to oblige."

"No sense of patriotism? Of duty?" Rebecca slowly ventured.

He shrugged. "It's hard to be patriotic when you know all about the mistakes that have been made and, let's face it, one day, the United States will cease to exist. It's inevitable."

"You don't know that for sure," she argued, more to keep herself distracted.

"Everything that has a beginning, has an ending," Daniel declared in a quiet, almost sage-like way with a small sage smile to match. His smile wavered when he saw that Rebecca didn't get the quote. Not because she was distracted, but because the Matrix hadn't come out yet.

The conversation came to an abrupt end as the radio finally squawked. “This is Billy. We’ve finished here. Hit the brakes ASAP.”

“Roger,” Rebecca quickly replied, her hands fumbling with the radio as she hoisted it from her to answer.

“Gladly!” Daniel crowed as he jumped over to the other half of the lock system. Next to a number pad was a broken display showing: /36. A series of small lights were lined along the bottom of the display. _A math problem!_ He mentally hissed. Worse, he couldn’t remember the exact code. Then again, it wasn’t necessary. _Ten dots, ten numbers in the code._ He hit the ‘four’ button eight times before finishing it with a three and a one. The thirty-six blinked once and disappeared as the code was accepted. Daniel may have hated math, but that didn’t mean he was a complete idiot. “Time to hit the brakes!”

The medic wholeheartedly agreed as she pulled on the necessary lever. With a bit of a struggle, the brakes were finally engaged. The pair found themselves the victims of inertia as the train jerked, crashing them into the console. Daniel had braced himself for it, but underestimated the force his body was subjected to. And the manual, which someone had knocked onto the floor, happened to be at the same spot where Rebecca placed her right foot after the jerk. The thing about paper: it slides very easily. Her foot suddenly shot backwards, throwing her off-balance. After slamming forward, Rebecca rebounded. And without a steady stance, she fell to her right, hands grasping. Daniel was to her right. Before he could recover from the console's sting, he found his arm caught in a tight grip that was, unintentionally, pulling him down. Thus, gravity claimed two victims.

"Sorry, sorry!" Rebecca quickly blabbered as she tried to get out of the new human tangle.

"It's fine," Daniel retorted as he rolled off of her. He was back on his feet in a flash. His eyes gluing to the train's speedometer. Relief made some headway as he saw that they were now out of the triple-digits. And it was still rapidly dying down. _C'mon, c'mon,_ he chanted to himself. Rebecca repeated the same thing in her own mind as she watched the red lights alert them of their present speed.

Daniel took only a moment to glance at the navigation display detailing how far they were to the Umbrella facility. Current ETA was three minutes. _Plenty of time. We're actually going to stop the crash!_ He thought optimistically. _...but then what?_

A horrible, metallic screech interrupted the pair's thoughts. It chimed for a bit before a crash resounded throughout the air, followed by the sound of falling metal. The speedometer's rate of decay suddenly slowed. "The brakes broke off!" Rebecca fearfully realized. The speedometer changed direction. It went back from the 70's past the 100's, and was still going. "Damn it!" She wailed, fear taking over. "It was all for nothing!"

Daniel took a deep breath, steadying his frazzled nerves. "Come on," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder, gently tugging her toward the door. "We need to warn the others." She glanced between him and the console, wondering if it was all pointless. She nodded her acquiescence.

They ran. They could have walked. But, at the moment, any way to relieve stress was welcomed. Anything that could help them forget their dire predicament. They ran past blood. Jumped over fallen bodies. Fighting images of their own corpses adding to the piles. They reached the others as Billy and Edward opened the door to move toward the engine.

"We're not slowing down," Billy stated, the question barely concealed.

"The brakes are gone. They're somewhere back in the forest now," Daniel explained quietly, taking deep breaths.

Billy stared at them, then at the windows. "....f--k. How much time do we have?"

"A, uh, a minute, m-maybe two," Rebecca stuttered.

"Alright, that settles it," Edward declared calmly and solemnly as he took control of the conversation. He turned around and addressed everyone. "Everybody sit down, look for a way to secure yourself, and put your heads between your knees."

There was a stunned pause before the others scrambled to fulfill the directive.

"They need to install seatbelts from now on," Billy muttered as he bunkered down in a forward seat away from the others. Edward took a seat that was two behind Billy, still keeping a close eye on the convict. Rebecca sat by herself behind Edward.

Across the aisle from Rebecca was where Daniel sat down. Behind Shantia leaned forward and whispered, "Is there anything we can do?"

He grimly shook his head. "Pray."

Shantia nodded as she assumed the position with Bruce next to her. Tim and Katelyn were huddled together behind them. Jessica, who looked more annoyed than scared, sat across the aisle from the young couple. Which left Kevin, behind Jessica, by himself. The pilot made sure his helmet was secure before leaning down. Silence reigned beside the sound of the train speeding down the tracks, and the quiet whispers of those whose hands were clasped together. Daniel's own pleas for safety were interrupted as the scene outside changed. The dark, rain-filled forest was replaced by a grey shadow, concrete tunnel. Only seconds were left. The soldier quickly returned to his prayers with renewed fervor.

Once again, inertia attacked them as the train's engine collided with the tunnel's first barrier. Fingers and hands slammed into the soft, but defiant material that formed the seats' back, eliciting a whimper from a few. The moment passed swiftly, followed by floating. To everyone's surprise as the train went airborne. But it wasn't just flying. The train was turning onto its side. Living passengers grasped on to the seats, trying to prevent gravity from forcing them out. Rebecca was especially caught off-guard.

Unable to get a strong grip, she whooshed out of her seat, and smashed Daniel into the window. To Daniel's immense relief (and thanks to Rebecca's small weight), the window didn't break open and put him in an unenviable position between the ground and the falling train.

Kevin was not as lucky. Also, unable to prevent his fall, no one sat between Kevin and the broken window that was now part of the floor. His own desperate flailing did not save his left arm. As he landed, it was pierced by glass in several places, blood now slipping through the puncture wounds. Worse, his fingers became victims as they were broken and scratched by the fast-moving concrete. Kevin instinctively jerked back, stopping further damage. But the intense agony of several broken fingers was too much for the pseudo-STARS member. He drifted off into shock, his ties to reality severed. His body was spared the same injuries as it now rested against the solid remains of the cracked window.

Metal shrieked as it scraped against the artificial ground. Its speed rapidly declined as friction took its toll. After another few, tense-ridden seconds, the train came to a stop. No one spoke, giving Disaster a chance to play out a final note. But it didn't come. Instead, sighs of relief sounded throughout the compartment, even among those who were still struggling to keep their place on the lifted side. Edward and Billy carefully let themselves down into the other seats below them.

Rebecca murmured dreamily, eyes closed. "We made it. I can't believe we made it."

"Yeah," Daniel agreed, feeling the same immense sense of relief. "We survived....but would you mind getting off of me?"

"Huh?" Rebecca opened her eyes and found out that Daniel's face was only three inches from hers.

"I'm having a little trouble breathing," Daniel explained, a poor attempt at trying to be nonchalant, betrayed by his reddening cheeks.

"Oh, right, sorry, sorry!" Rebecca said rapidly as she stood up, using a hand to push herself up. Of course, she accidently pushed on his arm, causing him to grunt, which in turn triggered another "sorry!" from her. Daniel reached above him and grabbed the curtain rod. With it, he pulled himself out from underneath Rebecca who was back on her feet.

Tim sniffed the air and turned around. "Does anyone smell smoke?" He looked back toward the kitchen area. Something twitched in his peripheral vision. He looked down and saw Kevin. "Oh crap! Hey! Medic! He needs help!"

"What is it?" Edward demanded, walking over to them, Rebecca just ahead of him.

"Kevin?" the Medic called as she kneeled down next to the bleeding man. Gently, she turned him over and saw the full extent of the damage. "Oh god. Kevin? Can you hear me?" She removed the pilot's helmet. The man's amber eyes seem to stare at nothing and everything. "He's in shock."

"You might want to get that glass out of him," Jessica lightly suggested from her standing spot on another seat's side.

Rebecca looked up at her. "I can't. I don't have the right tools to make sure he doesn't bleed to death after I remove them. For the time being, they need to stay." Her gaze went back down to her patient. She couldn't stop the wince as her eyes lingered on Kevin's misshapen fingers. "And I need to set those straight."

"We need to get out of here," Billy declared as he scanned the area. "I can hear fire." Everyone paused, and, sure enough, the crackling of flames popped in their ears.

"This way." Daniel walked over to the door and pushed it open. The next car was mercifully free of fire. Now if only the door wouldn't try to shut. "Little help?"

"I've got it," Billy offered. He squirmed into the doorway and took over, pushing the sliding door all the way open. He scooted to the side and jerked his head at the others. "Come on through."

Edward nodded and glanced over the others. "Private Sims, I want you to take point. You," he continued as he pointed at Bruce. "And Rebecca are going to make sure Kevin gets out of here safely." To the teenage couple, he ordered, "You two will be next followed by Dixie Jane here."

"That's **MS.** Dixie Jane to you!"

"And myself, Private Askew, and Billy will take up the rear."

"Okay, Kevin, it's time to get moving," Rebecca cooed, gently helping the barely-active man to his feet with Bruce's help. Most of his forearm was now covered in thick, tight bandages that traced a pattern around the shards of glass. Daniel, already in the next car, viewed the 'floor' uneasily. All the bodies that weren't removed were now in a couple of piles between him and the next door. Keeping his rifle pointed groundward, he cautiously trudged forward. Taking every care to be as gentle as possible, the medic, her new assistant, and her patient moved at a snail's pace.

Jessica bounced on her feet impatiently. "Argh! Can't y'all go faster!"

If she had sound concerned, Edward would have been sympathetic. In the past couple of minutes, the temperature rose steadily. Since it was already a summer night, that equaled to an uncomfortably warm temperature as is. Worse, he doubted they had much time before the smoke started building up. But her tone was one of impatient frivolity. "Just wait your turn," he barked, unconsciously scratching where he'd been bit earlier.

"But I'm missing out on some serious monster-slaying time!" She retorted in a high-pitched whine with a false frown.

Edward was about to snap something back, when he thought about her words. It hadn't occurred to him that the rest of their ordeal might not simply consist of getting Kevin back to a hospital. He brushed the possibilities away. He was tired, hurt, and he seemed to have caught something. He knew his forehead was hot to the touch, and he couldn't blame it on the fire. "Just wait," he pleaded with Jessica. "We're all getting out of here together."

"Too slow!" She declared. And before Edward could counter, she climbed up the seats before throwing a window open.

"Wait! We have to stay together!" Edward ordered, almost at his wit's end.

The cowgirl stuck her tongue at him before pulling herself out of the car.

Meanwhile, Rebecca stared at the corpses apprehensively. "You're sure they're dead?" She looked back up at Daniel who was checking the last body.

"Every single one of them has a bullet head in their skull," he reassured her, pausing to wipe some of the sweat of his brow. He looked up at the next door. "I'm going to need someone to help me check this door." He glanced back. Behind Rebecca's group, Tim and Katelyn were in the middle of crossing. "Tim, take Kevin's handgun and help me out."

"Belay that!" A frustrated Edward called out from the other car. He glared at the soldier from the open doorway. "I refuse to allow another civilian to be armed!"

"Well then either you or Shantia come over here then," Daniel replied, glancing between the STARS member and the convict that was still holding the door open. Edward caught the expression and glared at the convict. He turned to Shantia and studied her, debating with himself. "Kevin is in no condition for combat any time soon," the glasses-wearing soldier added. 

The STARS mechanic groaned. "Fine. Just keep moving."

"Roger." Daniel waited expectantly for Tim. The short football player whispered something to Katelyn before walking to the incoherent Kevin. He pulled the handgun out of the man's holster before hurrying over to Daniel. "Right, it's simple. You open the door, while I peek through it, okay?"

"Okay," Tim repeated seriously. After checking to make sure the small firearm was on "safe", he slowly slid the door open. Daniel peered in, happy that the next car was also illuminated. Besides the two z-dogs from earlier, it was clear.

"Hey!" Daniel and Tim looked up. A very irate Jessica was staring back down at them through a window. "There's nothing here! No monsters, no zombies, no nothing!" She swept her arms through the air, making a large "X". "I'm getting bored!" She warned them.

 _Drunk Jessica is bad enough,_ Daniel thought with a grimace. _Drunk and bored Jessica sounds horrifying._ Rebecca and the others were right behind him, so he didn't dare try to reassure the action-starved teenager. "We have to get out of here first. Then we can worry about securing the area," he pointed out vaguely.

Though certainly buzzed, Jessica received his meaning. She scowled and laid down, placing an arm through the window. "Then come on! It's faster this way."

"We can't possibly get Kevin out that way!" Rebecca protested voraciously. "Not without aggravating his injuries!"

"Well he certainly ain't getting better as is!" Jessica sourly countered. "And the fire is only getting worse!"

Rebecca bit her lip and looked at Kevin than at Daniel, who frowned. The pilot had already been through a lot, and he hated the thought of making it worse. Then again, Rebecca still hadn't been able to attend to his fingers, which still were bent at crooked angles. That and the smoke was getting worse. Daniel sniffed trying to clear his lungs of a small invasion of the foul substance. "Time is our priority right now. Let's get him up after another person." Jessica let out a victorious smile. Her hand impatiently grabbed at people. "Bruce, you're up. Then we'll get Kevin, and so on. Tim help me out." One by one, the survivors were pulled and pushed up out of the train. Both the heat and the smoke continued to gather. In a few minutes, blurry eyes and wheezing lungs became all too common even as people struggled to keep both off. Once Billy was pulled out, the train was empty of human life. Already, a few of the others were off the train and waiting for the rest of their comrades.

Rebecca turned to watch Billy, Daniel, and Edward come over. She waved, encouraging them to press onward, coughing as she did so. "Everybody's already *cough* down!"

Edward nodded and jumped, quickly followed by Billy. The two landed on their feet amongst the others and gestured for the last two to move. "I'll catch you!" The mechanic reassured her.

Daniel jumped next, landed on his feet, but found inertia carrying him forward. He pulled back...and found himself going too far reverse, collapsing his unsteady balance and landing on his rear. _Can barely see anything._ He thought as he clutched his cap to his mouth, breathing carefully.

Rebecca blinked, trying to clean her eyes. The smoke was getting thicker. She tried to guess where Edward was so she could jump at a spot in front of him. A stabbing pain coming from her feet alerted her that she missed and Edward didn't catch her. Her left foot gave way and she hit the ground. Well, at least, she was supposed to. But she landed on something other than concrete. Something softer. Something that wheezed, "again!?"as she crashed on top. In her tear-filled vision, she could see a pair of camouflaged pants. "Sorry!" She called out as she was pulled onto her feet by Edward. Beside them, Daniel stood, one arm across his aching stomach. "Where to?" Rebecca asked, trying to find an exit through the flames.

"This way!" Daniel began running. Though how he was able to navigate through the burning corridor so easily was beyond Rebecca. Regardless, everyone followed and was led to a steel door. Daniel threw it open and everyone piled in with Edward shutting the door behind him.

"Oh...my...god. IT REEKS IN HERE!" Jessica announced, an echo trailing after her every word. After the smell of fire and smoke cleared away from Billy's nose. He couldn't help but agree. _Out of the fire and into the sewers,_ he thought drearily as he could feel his feet become drenched with the foul concoction.

"There's an exit right over there." Billy followed where Pvt. Sims pointed at and could see an indentation in the wall. It could have been exit, but the ex-marine wasn't sure how the soldier could tell from his vantage point. _Has he already recovered from the smoke? No,_ he decided as he watched Daniel take off his glasses and wipe his eyes. The teenager moved unsteadily forward, using his free hand to guide himself along the wall, his rifle bouncing against his back. _Now that I think about it. How did he even see that last door?_

The rest of the group was content to allow Daniel to take the lead. Many of them still coughing and wiping their eyes, trying to remove the last traces of the toxic air from themselves. Rebecca quickly re-took her spot next to the pilot, who remained mentally oblivious of the entire situation, even as his body tried to clean itself. But as she reached the halfway spot to the exit, her radio beeped. Static came first, followed by a voice that Daniel never expected to hear. "...Richard...re. Re..cca, where....u?"

The two STARS members shared a brief look before Rebecca practically jumped for her radio, unhooking it from her belt. "Richard! Can you hear me? Please respond!"

"I....ou......to...." Was all that spoke from the electronic device before static completely overwhelmed it. Rebecca let out a small cry of frustration.

"Easy, Rebecca," Edward gently commanded. "We, at least, know he's alive. Maybe he's already back with the others. Maybe they can help us."

"How?" Shantia asked. She wasn't trying to be confrontational, but she was confused on how the rest of Bravo team could do anything for them now.

Edward faltered and reluctantly shrugged. "They're alive. That's what counts." The answer didn't satisfy the raven-haired soldier. But she dropped the subject.

Daniel, on the other hand, was downright bewildered. _A call from Richard? A call from Richard! What the heck?! I mean, where was THAT in the game?_ He was glad that he had his back turned toward the others. He was pretty sure his eyes were wide open with the confusion that filled him. Sloshing legs reminded him that they still needed to get out of the sewers. He pushed the new event to the back of his mind as he began climbing up the ladder.

Bruce peered at the ladder then at Kevin before he focused on Rebecca. His face asking a silent question of how they were going to transport the injured pilot up the ladder. Unfortunately, Rebecca wasn't sure herself. "Well, maybe we could, no. Er, how about...no." Every idea that came to her was immediately shot down by herself.

"I'll do it."

"Huh?" Rebecca turned around just in time to see her charge being lifted off his feet. "Wait, that's not good for him!" She clamored as Billy threw the pilot onto his shoulders.

"No time for pleasantries, princess," he said as he began climbing up the ladder.

"Don't call me princess." Her complaint was only half-hearted as she watched in surprise. She didn't think the convict was capable of such a feat of strength.

"She is a fully-fledged member of STARS, and will be treated as such." Edward's warning, however, was much stronger, though he too didn't seem as threatening as he'd usually been toward Billy.

"Woah," Billy quietly said in awe as he reached the top.

"What? What is it?" Rebecca asked. She was next out. "...oh."

"Wow! I wouldn't mind living here," Jessica declared. They were now in a grand, elegant foyer of what had to be a large mansion. The floor was tiled marble. Most of the first floor was encircled by a smooth, wooden railing. Antique chairs lined up against the railing. Behind them were expensive, intricate oil paintings. Two doorways led to the eastern and western parts of the house. Two torches stood guard on both sides of the main stairway, which led up to a landing. In front of the landing was an enormous portrait of an old man with piercing, cold eyes. Two more torches stood to each side of the portrait. Two stairways finished the way to the second floor. The second floor had a balcony that completely encircled the room. Several more doors and oil paintings were on the balcony itself. To top it all off was a large, unlit chandelier hanging over their heads, encouraging them to stare at the heavily-painted ceiling.

"I don't get it," Shantia declared as her gaze turned toward her comrade. "Why does a station in the middle of a mountain have a door into a sewer, which has a ladder leading up to a fancy smancy building?"

Daniel shrugged.

Soon, everybody was out of the sewers. Most of them admired their new surroundings, except for Daniel and Rebecca, who was finishing her treatment on Kevin. He took a glance at each door. First one was the front entrance. Two knights barred the way. _Locked._ He turned to the Dining Room door. _Open_. The door to the hallway with leech zombies. _Open._ The two second-level doors to the East. _Both are locked_. The double doors behind the statue. _Open._ Finally, the door to the study. _Open._ Daniel began to formulate a plan. But even as he did so, doubt crossed his mind. Already, so many things were different. What else could happen?

Meanwhile Billy gazed at the symbol on the floor. "The Umbrella Research Center?"

Are the faint sounds of footsteps those of survivors?


	6. Exploring the Cage

Everyone

“It’s him,” Rebecca said quietly to herself as she climbed up the first two steps of the stairway. Her green eyes were fixed on the large, faded portrait in front of her. The face looked exactly like the leech man she ran into earlier. She turned around and caught Daniel’s eye, who nodded, seeing the connection. She rested her head on a fist. “But... what does it even mean?” Rebecca wondered, confused about the eerie coincidence.

“What does what mean?” Billy questioned as he looked between Daniel, Rebecca, and the portrait.

Before Rebecca could elaborate, everyone froze as an old recording began to play. An old man's voice spoke of a reminder, telling his employees to quietly reflect on the company motto. The voice identified itself as Dr. Marcus. The motto was as such :"Obedience breeds Discipline. Discipline breeds Unity. Unity breeds Power. Power is life."

 _Almost like a devotion,_ Daniel sourly noted. _No wonder that Umbrella has a large share of screwed-up employees._

Rebecca pointed at the old painting. “The leech monster looked exactly like him before it transformed.”

“A leech monster?” Shantia repeated disbelievingly. She turned to Daniel for verification.

He nodded. “You heard right. A leech monster that can mimic humans. Or, at least, this human in particular.”

“So that might mean this place is crowded with monsters just waiting to be slaughtered?” Jessica asked hopefully.

"Just because Umbrella owned the train and this facility does not mean that whatever happened out there has happened in here," Edward countered. He waved an arm over the room. "The power is still on. If we're lucky, we can find another human being and contact the rest of Bravo team."

"Um, Edward," Rebecca began quietly, hesitantly. "It might not be like that."

The burly Bravo member didn't like what he was hearing. "Do you have evidence to suggest otherwise, Rebecca?" He asked in a clipped, official tone.

Rebecca reached behind her and pulled out a diary along with a bloodied and torn piece of paper. "Remember the files I discovered during my investigation on the train? It says that there was an investigation unit on the train that was headed to this facility to re-activate it. In addition to that, it looks like Umbrella was conducting illegal viral research, using something called the 'T-virus'." She frowned as she finished. "And it looks like this T-virus can infect multiple species. It's probably behind the creation of all the monsters and zombies we've seen."

Edward stared intensely at the medic for a moment. Finally, he asked, "Do you know how it spreads? Is there a cure?" All the while, his spare hand rested on his bitten shoulder.

Rebecca did her best not to stare at Edward's shoulder even as old zombie movie clichés filled her head. _It's always spread by bites, right?_ "No, it just says that it is a possible source of the outbreak. Nothing else."

"Hmph." Edward turned to face the barred main door. "Well, regardless of what's happened here, we have the fugitive in custody. Our top priority now is to reestablish contact with STARS and ensure that Kevin receives proper medical treatment. We'll investigate this facility later." He glared at the glistening knights, whose swords barred the main exit. "And that means we need to get through this door."

Billy, while ignoring the word "fugitive", was already scanning the metallic bodies. He walked up to one and knocked on the mechanical knight. The sound that reverberated was not hollow, to Billy's dismay. Edward was now by the other knight, rapping his knuckles against it. He frowned before he knocked it, harder. Though it rattled, it did not budge from its spot. Edward growled at it. He cocked his leg back, and slammed it against the machine. To his increasing frustration, the knight held its ground. "DAMN!"

"Language."

Edward glared at Tim, who had an arm around Katelyn. Tim glanced at Katelyn and glared back at Edward. _Of all the..._ The Bravo halted the thought and took a deep breath. _Getting angry won't help,_ Edward reminded himself.

"On the plus side," Billy began dryly. "If we could open their hands, I'm sure those swords would come in handy."

"Well!" Jessica declared loudly. "Looks like we'll have to do some explorin'!" Her head jerked to and fro as she analyzed the doors. "Which one, which one, which?" Her eyes stopped as she stared at the doors behind her good friend, Daniel.

While Billy and Edward had fruitlessly struggled to clear the main door, the male soldier turned his eyes to the ceiling. _Somewhere up there, Wesker and Birkin are watching this. I wonder what they'll make of this? Rebecca, Edward, and Kevin shouldn't throw Wesker off. But six new teenagers? Is he confused? Does he care?_ Daniel's silent reflection was brought to a halt as he felt someone's gaze on him. He looked back down and saw Jessica staring right at him, her eyes burning a noiseless question into him. His eyes flashed to the doors behind her before he looked back at her. Jessica got the answer as she whirled around to face the doors. A huge grin sprouted onto her face. "I'MMA GOIN' MONSTER SLAYIN'!"

Billy, who caught the devilish expression and immediately understood the cowgirl's plan, nearly leaped from the knight as he tried to grab onto her shoulder. His hand reached forward....and swiped at the air that now occupied the space.

Katelyn blinked and replayed the scene in her mind. Jessica shouted, then tore off like a lightning bolt toward the doors. _I didn't even know she could run that fast..._ An image of an old Bugs Bunny cartoon came to mind. A speedy getaway, so fast, that it left a dust cloud in Bug's shape.

"No! We have to stay together!" Edward commanded as forcefully as he could. The effect was...negligible. With negligible equaling to no effect whatsoever. The poor doors didn't stand a chance as the teenager charged through them. Billy was right behind her. Edward looked at the others, anger and frustration characterizing his feelings.

"I think it'll be a good idea if you can keep an eye on those two. I'll organize the rest of us to begin searching the rest of the building for life, an exit, and a phone," Daniel rattled off, watching closely to see if the STARS member would agree with him.

Edward paused before he nodded. "Safety is still top priority!" Then he ran after the first two.

"Don't forget to keep the doors closed!" Daniel replied. He turned to the others. "Alright, Rebecca, you and I will check the upper double doors. Tim and Shantia, I want you two to check that door." He pointed at the second story door that was on the opposite wall to where Jessica charged through.

"Okay," Rebecca nodded, while she went over Kevin's bandages one last time.

While the medic was finishing, Daniel motioned for Shantia to join him for a moment. The bun-haired soldier did so. "I hope you're about to tell me what is going to happen once we go through that door," she whispered quickly.

"I am. It's a single room, a study, I think. There are two important items: a document on the coffee table in the center of the room, and a handle by itself in a small cabinet by the door. Get them and any spare ammo or herbs and get out. As soon as you grab the handle, it should trigger a crow attack coming in from the window. Don't fight, just run." He paused as he saw Rebecca stand. He continued at normal volume. "In case there's only one room, I want you to try to catch up with us and report your findings, alright?"

"Got it." Shantia waved to Tim and the two of them started climbing the steps.

Rebecca shot a puzzled a look between the two US soldiers. "What were you talking about?"

"Just some searching procedures, nothing much really," Daniel answered blandly with a shrug. "Let's get started." He led the way up the stairs with a not-quite-convinced Rebecca following.

Edward, Billy, & Jessica

After closing the door, they found themselves in a fancy dining room. Tables lined the wall, while others occupied the center of the room. Each one was covered by white cloth and had a complete set of dishware and utensils. Also, each one had a candlestick. Blood stains marked the wall. Much more pressing was the five zombies that limped toward them. Jessica was having a grand ol' time. The zombies that patrolled the dining room might have been able to easily defeat the rambunctious cowgirl if they tried to zerg rush her. But they were content to notice her one at a time, proving to be easy prey for her dual handguns.

"Great. More of these rotting bastards." Billy said dryly, content to save his ammo. After all, what if they ran into another giant insect?

Edward followed Billy's example, allowing Jessica to rack up the kills. "So much for finding life."

"Boom! Headshot! Boom! Headshot! Mwahahahahaha!"

"What kind of door is that?" Edward said rhetorically. With the room clear, he walked around the large table and arrived at a door tucked away in the back. The door was a dark red color. Or was simply red in a dark room. It was carved with intricate branches in four corners surrounding a circle of carefully detailed flames. He checked the handle. "Locked," he declared, unsurprised.

"That's not a problem." Billy stared through the pass-through into the kitchen. Unlike the one on the train, this one was large enough to accommodate all of them, even Edward's large size. A ceiling light illuminated most of the room and from what Billy could see, no hostiles of any sort were in there. "I'll go in first."

"No," Edward answered, spying the open window next to the door.

Billy rolled his eyes. "Come on. Where would I run to? For all I know, I could run into giant cockroaches in that forest.

"Good grief! When will you two start working together!?" Jessica interrupted exasperatedly, glaring at them. "All your whining means I'm going to miss out on the monsters!"

"And I'm getting sick of your attitude, young lady," Edward barked back.

"Just let the damned man go already!"

The STARS officer growled at the impudent high school student. _Gotta stay in control. I'm in charge. How does Enrico do this?_ "Fine, I'll cover you," he told Billy, pointing his machine gun into the vacant kitchen.

The fugitive nodded, only partially satisfied that the cop was being more cooperative. _That girl though, she's going to get us all killed._ Making sure his weapons were on safe and put away, he crawled through the hole in the wall. He slid in head first, scanning the floor. Once he saw nothing was directly beneath him, he pulled the rest of his body in, dropping onto the floor. It took two seconds for him to get back to his feet. Another scan of the room agreed with his initial assessment that it was safe. He side-stepped to the right and unlocked the red door. Edward came in, his eyes checking Billy first before moving on to the rest of the room. _He's cautious, I'll give him that._ Jessica stepped in next. She took a whiff of the air, scrunched up her face, and announced, "This is no way to treat a kitchen!"

Billy agreed the room had certainly seen better days . Dirty dishes were overflowing in the sink. Rotting food was strewn all over the counters. There wasn't a section of the room that wasn't covered with stains whether they belong to dirt, water, or blood. "Maybe you should clean it and whip up a meal for everyone."

"Is there anything in the fridge?" Billy paused, and stared at the cowgirl, caught off-guard by the sincerity of her question. She stared right back as she walked in. "...well?"

"You can stop pulling my chain."

"I'm serious," she protested.

Now Edward halted as he regarded the teenager. "You two need to stop playing around and get back to work."

Jessica glared at the STARS officer. "You're not hungry? I mean, the power was left on this entire time, right? There has to be something to eat in there. And I'm hungry."

Edward leapt at the chance to keep Jessica out of trouble and away from the fighting. "Let me check." He opened the fridge....and slammed it shut as his poor nose was subjected to pure, aroma torture for a second too long.

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad, you wussy," Jessica declared as she headed for the fridge. Edward's reply was to take one large step back and gestured for her to check it out herself. Billy ignored the two and refilled his dead lighter with some recently-found lighter fluid. She threw open the door...and her haughty expression froze in place. Coincidentally, a smug grin appeared on Edward's. Jessica breathed out and crouched to get a better view of the contents. "Well, looks like the milk is rotten. Along with everything else. Maybe the freezer." The fridge door was slammed shut a second time. Much more cautiously, Jessica opened the freezer door. No foul odor greeted her. Encouraged, she took a closer view of the contents. "Wow, they really didn't spare any expense for these guys. There's meat, ice-cream, and a boatload of frozen sandwiches. Heck, I could get our boys some snacks within half an hour. If I leave the meat to thaw now, I could probably have a decent meal ready in a few hours." The brunette glanced up at Edward. "And me and the others haven't had anything to eat in a while."

The mechanic nodded thoughtfully. "Alright, do what you can, clean what you need to. We'll secure the window, check a couple more rooms and be back here in ten minutes."

Jessica was about to shoot the idea down, unhappy with any missed chance of action. But then, her stomach growled, and the argument died before she could voice it. With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, she relented. "Fine. But don't kill anything you don't have to!"

"Trust me," Billy answered as he locked the window. "We'll avoid any and all unnecessary fights. "

Edward turned to leave as Jessica started on her new task. Back outside the kitchen, the men pored over the new corpses. No new information came to light, but the two did discover more than enough ammo to compensate.

Shantia and Tim

They entered the dark room. Light was provided by moonlight through the windows and an old lamp that stood guard on a coffee table. An unlit fireplace adorned the room along with several old paintings. A wilted plant sat next to an old sofa, having died long ago. Across the table from the sofa were two chairs. On the table were an old file, a teapot, a cup on its saucer, and another teacup that was on its side. It looked as though that two people were enjoying some tea before they were interrupted.

"It's creepy in here." Shantia noted as she watched for movement beyond the windows. She did not appreciate the gnarled tree branches that snaked across the windows' views.

"Just turn on the lights," Tim answered as he retrieved the file, who was also eager to be out of here.

"No way. It might bring in the z-crows in early."

"Alright."

Shantia slowly walked over to the cabinet, eyes still focused on the window. Tim was already opening the door. "Here goes nothing." She pulled out the handle. They waited for a moment.

"Guess he was- ," They both jumped as a flock of infected crows crashed in. As the birds began to dive at them, Shantia charged out of the room, while Tim slammed the door behind them. Safely back in the foyer, they took a moment to calm down.

Daniel and Rebecca

Daniel's original plan was to search the conference room, go through the first left door, enter the library and have Shantia and Tim rendezvous with them with the needed handle. Like many of his other expectations, it was quickly derailed. This time the derailing was accomplished solely by Rebecca. After climbing up both flights of stairs, the medic turned her full attention on the white marble statue of justice. The soldier patiently waited by the double doors for Rebecca to finish her inspection. What she said, floored him. "I wonder if this is part of an elaborate lock."

"....what?"

She turned and waved for him to come closer. "Look at it. Why is the scale functional? Instead of simply being carved marble too? And read this inscription: 'When good and evil are brought into balance, a new path will be opened to you.' I seriously think that solving this riddle might unlock something." She peered past the statue at the two mechanical knights. "Maybe it'll open the front doors."

Daniel struggled to keep his face straight. "Yeah, that makes sense," he replied slowly. "Any idea what's the riddle's answer?"

Rebecca rested her chin on her fist, undoubtedly going into contemplation mode again. "Hmmm, I'm not sure. But let's just focus on the scale. It's already tilting to one side, so all we have to do is get it into balance and that, hopefully will take care of everything. But what should we use as a weight?" She peeked at Daniel. "What do you have in your pockets?"

"Well..." The soldier slung his assault rifle before digging into his many, many pockets. "A couple of magazines, cell phone, wallet...and a flashlight." _You know, I never really did use the flashlight._ Daniel looked from the small pile of stuff in his hands to Rebecca.

"You had a cell phone? Why didn't you use it?"

"I haven't had any service since I entered the forest. And, by the time I realized I had no service, we were already in pretty deep," Daniel answered, being completely honest.

"You guys are incredibly lucky, aren't you?" She murmured as she glanced between the items and the scales. "Well, since it isn't working, may I borrow it?"

"Sure."

"Thank you." She grabbed the phone and the unused flashlight and placed them on the scales. The scales rocked back and forth before stopping. It was still uneven. "Hmmmm. Maybe..." Her train of thought was brought to a halt as Tim and Shantia came running in from their room. Tim slammed the door behind him. Several loud thumps crashed into the now-closed door.

 _Huh. I wonder if that can be an effective way to kill z-crows,_ Daniel privately wondered. "You two alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," Shantia wheezed out. "But trust me, you don' wanna go back in there. Looks like the infection has hit the local bird population."

Rebecca's worries instantly doubled. "Can they spread the infection?" Tim replied with a did-you-honestly-think-we-would-check!?' look. The medic got the message. "This is really bad. If they can spread the infection, then there's no way we can keep this area quarantined beyond a gigantic explosion to wipe out this whole area. Worse, they'll make terrible targets."

"The shotgun would be ideal for clearing them out, wouldn't it," Daniel advised confidently. "It'd be like using AA shrapnel against fighters."

The STARS member glanced at him, surprised. "Yeah. I think you're completely right. We would just have to make sure no one tries to go outside without the shotgun we found earlier. Give me a moment," she pulled out her radio. "I need to warn Edward and the others."

As she passed along the new info, Daniel took a few steps up to Shantia and Tim as the pair made their way back to the staircase. Tim glared at him as Shantia handed over the handle. "I hope this was worth it, Sims. Just because I watched the Resident Evil movies doesn't means that I want to get the bejeebus scared out of me."

Daniel glanced toward the elevator where the broken lift was before looking at the locked door on the other side of the statue. "It was worth it." He turned the handle over and under. "We need this to get out of here."

"Alright then, what's next?" Shantia asked.

"Wait! That just might work!" The three dimension travelers turned to look at Rebecca, each with a huge question mark written on their faces. The medic was pointing at the retrieved handle. "Can I see that?"

"Um, sure?" Daniel muttered. _She's not going to do that...is she?_

"Thank you," she shot back as she took the handle then placed it on the scale plate with his cell phone. The scales quivered before resting in balance. "There!" Rebecca declared triumphantly. The sound of old gears turning grabbed everyone's attention.

"The picture!" Katelyn yelled from the ground floor. "It just sank into the floor!"

"I was right!" Rebecca said excitedly as she hurried down to the landing. Shantia and Tim followed, curious about this new entry.

Daniel seemed frozen in place, jaw gaping. _But, but, we were supposed to find the angel and demon statues and their missing wings! Good grief, is all my game knowledge going to be completely useless? Maybe, I should just start thinking outside the box._ His mental rant concluded as he joined the others on the in-between floors landing.

Behind the portrait was another stairway leading into the basement area. Lights were still working and they were able to get a glimpse of what it was like. Whereas the training facility had a grand, elegant architecture to it, the basement had a very plain, utilitarian feel to it. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all concrete with several pipes and wires connected to them. And like the rest of the place, there was a touch of age and decay.

"Well, that's not ominous at all," Shantia sarcastically quipped.

"We need to check it out. There might be a way to unlock the main doors down there." Rebecca readied her handgun as she took the first step.

"Hold it!"

Rebecca glared at Daniel. "What? We need to move quickly. Kevin still needs medical attention."

"Just wait a second. We need more people if we're going to search the basement," the spectacled male soldier argued.

"We have four people right here," Rebecca countered, waving an arm over the small band of teenagers.

"No, we don't. Tim and Shantia need to stay up here to make sure nothing inhuman gets up here. Otherwise, they'll be able to feast on the others, who have no way to defend themselves. I think we should have at least one more person," Daniel held up a finger for emphasis. "Before we head down there."

Despite her eagerness, Rebecca could see the logic in Daniel's plan. "You're right," she sighed. She grabbed her radio again. "I'll talk to Edward and see if they can come back."


	7. Behind the Portrait

Main Hall Survivors

"Over." Rebecca put away the radio and focused her attention on the other three teenagers. "Edward is going to send Jessica to join us. And, she's actually bringing some sandwiches too."

"Sandwiches?" Tim repeated.

"Yeah. Apparently, they found a kitchen with a working freezer. Looks like one of the scientists froze sandwiches for a quick bite to eat. She's heating up some now for you guys."

"Thank God, I'm starvin'." Shantia's attention was now locked on the dining room door.

Daniel was happy with the news, after all, he hadn't had breakfast when he had been teleported. But he still kept an eye on the basement stairway.

"She should be here in a few minutes. After everyone has had a bite to eat, she'll come with us to check the basement."

Edward and Billy

He didn't like this mission. Not at all. After collecting all the ammo they could find on the dining room corpses (which was considerable, including a few grenades) and alerting Jessica about the basement area, they went through the last unchecked door in the dining room. But Edward couldn't stop thinking about the strange uniforms some of the bodies had been wearing. Like the ones on the train, they were paramilitary. But unlike those ones, these uniforms incorporated some green-and-black camouflage. The really strange part was the emblem on the back of the uniforms. It was Umbrella's famous icon with two swords crossed over it and a small shield over the swords. Written around the symbol was "Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Services". Add in the illegal viral research that Rebecca mentioned, and it looked like Umbrella was hip deep in things that it shouldn't be. But he pushed the thoughts away as he regarded the current situation.

Edward glared at the hissing steam that blocked their way. It was one more obstacle that limited him. Beyond it was a hallway with a stairway on the left and another door off to the right. So, they tried this alternate basement stairway. What they discovered was a mess of pipes and steam in the lower room. Besides a few medicinal herbs (which were pointed out by Billy of all people), they walked on a path that went around the machinery only to find out that somehow one of the pipes broke. Edward didn't doubt they could pass through it. But the burns encouraged them to search elsewhere.

So, with reluctance, they headed back up to the ground floor. Billy didn't like the hallway. At the opposite end was a window that wanted to be a mirror. As they walked toward the other door, all Billy could see was their reflection. If anyone or anything came crashing through it, there was a good chance that both of them would be caught off-guard. Of course, the fact that Edward refused to go anywhere without Billy up front didn't help matters. The man, though no longer disdaining of Billy, refused to trust him at any moment. It was becoming obnoxious. Thankfully, nothing came through the mirror-window and the pair checked out the next door.

This room had be the store room. Odds and ends were stacked against the wall. A giant bookcase nearly divided the room in two and was re-purposed to hold random junk. Billy's boots echoed off the stone tiled floor. The sound attracted the room's only occupants. A zombie in the same dark, combat uniform as the ones in the dining room and the train was the first to round the corner. Edward was simply going to shoot it when Billy held up a hand. "If there really is a horde in this place, then we need to conserve ammo." The former lieutenant unsheathed his knife and waited as the zombie staggered toward him. When it was only two feet away, it lunged. And the cadaver was rewarded when the small blade was slammed into its right eye. The now again-lifeless corpse collapsed at Billy's feet. He removed the blade and cleaned it on its clothes before readying for the next zombie. Two more came around the corner. Two more were stabbed.

Edward admitted that Billy's method did save ammo and was efficient. But he didn't like how easily Billy could use a knife on a human body - zombie or not. Now with the opposition gone, the two searched the rest of the room. Edward eyed the ladder that ascended to the floor above them. A closer inspection revealed that it led directly outside. "Looks like we'll have a chance to kill some infected crows soon," Edward muttered to himself. 

"And with a better weapon," Billy's low voice sounded from behind him. Edward looked towards Billy, unhappy that he let the convict walk outside of his visual range even for a few seconds, to see that Billy had found a much better shotgun. "There were also some spare shells on a nearby shelf. Ammo shouldn't be an issue for a while." Billy zeroed in on the ladder. "I guess I'll be taking point again," he declared sarcastically.

Edward frowned. "Just move it."

Main Hall Survivors

The double doors that divided the main hall from the dining room opened as Jessica came in with a scavenged serving plate filled with hot sandwiches. "Come and get it!" Everybody, minus Daniel, Rebecca, and Kevin swarmed her. "Alright, got enough sandwiches for everybody to have three." 

"You're a lifesaver, Jessica," Shantia announced as she grabbed her portion and took a seat.

"Thanks a bunch," Tim added as he took his and Katelyn's share. Bruce and Katelyn nodded, and said thank you before forming a small group with Tim to eat.

With the initial wave appeased, Jessica marched over to the last two conscious people. "Here you go."

"Much obliged," Daniel replied before feasting on his share.

Rebecca waved off her ration. "I'm not that hungry. Give my sandwiches to someone else."

"You should take at least one," Jessica suggested. "Who knows how long this night will be."

The medic wavered before nodding. "Okay, I'll take two."

"And, to make sure nobody fights over the last one, its mine, " Jessica announced. She removed the last sandwich before casually throwing the plate like a frisbee at the dining room door. "Ah. I've always wanted to do that. So," she continued after taking a bite. "We get to go explorin' down there?"

The soldier peered down the stairway. "Yep. Danger tends to double the lower you go, so I thought it'd be prudent to grab another person."

" 'Danger doubles the lower you go?' " Rebecca repeated, confused. "Is that an Army saying?"

"It's a horror movie thing."

The Bravo member raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You're comparing our situation to a horror movie?"

"Um, let's see," Jessica began rattling off, "mysterious murders occurring in nearby forest? Check. Police dispatched to solve mystery? Check. Police ambushed/split-up or somehow rendered ineffective? Check-"

"Hey!" Rebecca interrupted. "We're not ineffective!"

"Oh really? Last I checked, only two people in your squad are here and awake."

"But, nobody has died. Er, I mean," Rebecca corrected when she noticed the depressed Daniel. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that your friend was nobody. It's just, shouldn't more of us be dead to qualify as a horror movie," she finished awkwardly and embarrassed. "Aren't we more like an action film. A dark, zombie action film?"

"Hmmmm, you have a point," Jessica relented. "But! There's only way to find out." Her eyes were filled with a hungry look as she stared down the stairway.

"Make sure you're fully loaded," Daniel warned in between bites. "We don't want you reloading at the wrong moment."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dad." She emptied out her nearly-emptied magazines and began the tedious work of putting individual bullets in. By the time she was done, everyone was finishing their sandwiches.

"Alright, Tim, Shantia, you're holding topside," Daniel ordered as he unslung his M16.

"Gladly," Tim answered.

"Which means we get to explore the dark, dank, probably monster-filled basement!" Jessica shouted merrily. "Can I go first?"

Daniel was a little surprised to hear the question. _I thought she would've simply run in._

"You know what? Why am I asking? CHAAAAARGE!" The cowgirl roared as she headed down the stairs.

"Just as I expected," Daniel muttered to himself. He tried to keep up with his friend's frenzied pace. Rebecca was the last one to enter the stairway.

"Wooooooah!"

"What? What is it, Jessica?" Rebecca called out from her spot in line. Then they reached the bottom. "Oh. My. God."

Three sets of eyes were locked onto a creature that was scurrying on the ceiling. "Well, that's a typical horror movie monster," Daniel casually commented. The giant, furry tarantula ceased its meandering as it noticed the intruders. That was all the incentive Jessica needed to open fire on the overgrown spider. The inhuman opponent was able to withstand the barrage for a few seconds before it fell upside-down onto the cold, concrete floor. Its legs twitched in its death throes before it ceased.

"Dude, that thing is massive!" Jessica said to no one in particular. She walked up to the body and started poking it with her boot.

"Cut it out! We need to keep moving," Rebecca commanded in a shaky voice, her gaze still locked on the dead spider.

The cowgirl glanced between the spider and Rebecca. A devilish grin manifested on her face. "Heeeeey Becky-"

"Rebecca!"

"What do you think of spiders?"

Rebecca fumed. "It doesn't matter! We have a mission to accomplish!"

"My, my. You say that with such volume, I can't help but wonder-"

"Enough," Daniel intervened, though Jessica easily spotted the amused and annoyed look in his eye. "We have a man upstairs who needs medical attention. Let's keep moving."

"...fine." Jessica made a point of walking over the dead body as she moved through the corridor. Daniel waited to see if Rebecca would need some encouragement.

The medic glanced nervously between the dead spider and Daniel. "I'm not really afraid of spiders. It's just that we don't know if they're poisonous or not. And spider venom can be really horrifying, you know?" Daniel nodded in silent agreement. The sound of nine millimeter rounds going off alerted them that Jessica found something else to shoot. Rebecca glanced at the turn in the hallway, then at the spider, then at Daniel, before stopping at the spider. She took a deep breath. She was able to walk a few steps forward before she flattened herself against the wall and started inching past the body. Daniel walked on the opposite space. Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief once she was past it. "Come on. We can't let Jessica get too far ahead of us."

"Right." The two double-timed it down the hallway. The pair turned on the corner, and Rebecca froze as she saw not one, but two dead spiders down the next length of the hallway.

Jessica was waiting at the opposite end, poking her latest kill. "You two took your sweet time. Don't tell me you were making out behind my back."

"Will you just quit it?" Rebecca implored as she stared at the dead critters.

Meanwhile, Daniel's face turned to a light shade of red. "You are making sure you're not using up too much ammo, right?"

Jessica groaned. "Yes, Dad." Her devilish grin quickly returned. "You know, you two would make a cute couple."

Daniel's face turned redder. "Do I hear zombies behind the door next to you?"

"You do?" The soldier's distraction was instantly successful as the cowgirl reached out to open the nearby metal door. Excitement vanished from her face as the door refused to budge. "Come on!" She kicked the door a couple of times as Rebecca inched her way past the next spider, Daniel behind her. "What's with all of these locked doors!? If people want to be rescued, then they need all the doors unlocked!"

"Never mind that this place has been devoid of human life for a decade," Daniel said in a deadpan, lazy snark. His efforts earned him a death glare of DOOM!

"Well, fine! There's another door over there anyway," Jessica stormed off to the last door in the hallway, hoping that it wasn't locked.

"Hey! We need to stay together," Rebecca reminded her as she stared at the last spider corpse.

"Then get your ass into gear and move it!"

The medic scowled at both the spider and the pushy teenager. "I'm coming." She gulped and began to tiptoe past the last obstacle. Jessica was not amused.

"That's it, you are taking too long." She marched back to her comrades. Rebecca froze.

"Wait, what are you going to do?" Rebecca demanded, completely unsure of what was about to happen.

"This!" And before Rebecca could protest, Jessica scooped up the much smaller woman and dropped her into the arms of an extremely-befuddled (but quick) Daniel. "Good, now keep up."

"What did you do that for!?" Daniel asked as he looked between the two women.

"There might be more spiders behind this door," Jessica coolly explained as she walked back to the door. "This way, we won't take two whole hours waiting for her to get a move on. Just make sure you don't drop her."

"I don't need to be carried!" The embarrassed medic shouted.

"And yet, you're still in his arms." Jessica glanced over her shoulder at Daniel. "Move it. She's already in your arms. Might as well as start walking. It'll be good exercise."

"Who does she think she is?" Rebecca muttered under her breath. Her gaze bounced from the dead spider to Daniel before shielding her eyes from the abhorrent object. "Please, just go with it."

 _I...can't believe... that this is happening,_ Daniel thought to himself, still mostly dumbfounded, as he sidestepped past the object of his latest trouble.

"....thank you." The quiet whisper was uttered the moment Daniel was past the furry body. Rebecca quickly slipped out of his arms and shot another glare at Jessica with her dark-red face. Jessica ignored her as she turned the handle. With glee, the cowgirl felt the door handle give way and threw the door open with gusto. Beyond the door was a small, stone room with two makeshift desks, one with several objects on top and the other one being completely bare, and a barred, glassless window. Plants were growing out of the floor through the stone, hinting at the room's age. Jessica's glee turned sour as she saw nothing to shoot. She growled as she checked the window. "Ammo here," Rebecca announced as she checked the desks. "9 mm." She looked at Jessica. "You'll probably need to reload and stock up after taking care of the spiders." The blue jacket-wearing teenager grumbled as she fetched the bullets and filled up her clips.

"This is interesting." Daniel offered a sheet of paper to Rebecca.

She took it and scanned the information. "Hm. We'll keep an eye out for this power regulator. I bet something has gone wrong with the boiler room. Though why they connected the power grid between the two, I have no idea."

Jessica growled. "Well, I've used up all of my spare rounds. Tell me if you see anymore."

"Better start conserving from now on," Daniel suggested with an accusing look in his eye. "No more of these barrages. A single head shot is all we need."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Jessica frowned at the barred window. "And I don't see anything in there."

"We should still check it," Daniel replied as he slowly opened the wooden door.

"Well lookie, here," Jessica retorted. "I do believe we've found the dungeon."

Rebecca, who was in last, couldn't help but agree with Jessica's analysis. A tall, torch lamp stood next to the door and served as they only illumination. Big, heavy metal chains shot out from the walls and a center column. There was even a hook and a pulley system against the back wall. "Why would Umbrella build this? What could possibly be the purpose of...of all of this?!"

"Do we really want to know?" The brunette cowgirl wondered.

"Over here." Rebecca turned away from the pulley system and found Daniel staring at a large, open vent. The screen had rusted until it had fallen open one day. "You said the other door was locked, right?"

Jessica stared at the vent and then looked over Daniel. "You might be a little big."

"Wait a second," Rebecca interrupted. "What are you two planning?"

Jessica shot her a you-don't-get-it? look. "We need to send someone through to investigate. It might lead to the locked rooms back there."

"But, what are the odds of that being the case?"

"Well, it is pointed in the right direction," Daniel commented.

"But is it that necessary that we have to investigate **everything** we come across?" Rebecca tried again, still a little confused by how calmly they were about exploring random vents.

"We need to try to get out of here ASAP," the soldier explained. "Something important might be behind those locked doors."

"Why is this such a hard concept for you to grasp?" Jessica inquired bluntly.

"It's just... weird how you two want to investigate something like that before we've even finished searching the rest of the house," Rebecca said with a shrug. "I know I can fit through there."

"Alright," Daniel began as he mentally measured the size of his rifle and the vent entrance. He slung it onto his back as he gestured for Rebecca to come closer. "I'll go through first. Then I want Rebecca to come in behind me."

"Damn this small vent," Jessica muttered before acknowledging the suggestion. "Don't like being left behind, Sims." She made a cup with her hands and watched as Rebecca mimicked her.

"It's just this one time." Daniel stepped up, Jessica catching his right foot while Rebecca got his left. His hands grabbed onto the entrance and he pulled himself in. Progress promptly stopped as his rifle was caught on the wall. "Dagnabbit."He tried again, trying to keep his body lower. The rifle butt hit the wall again.

"Come on, Sims. Get in there," Jessica urged as she worked to keep the blond teenager up.

This time, he flattened himself against the vent's floor and managed to slide in. To his displeasure, the vent was a tighter squeeze than he imagined. Still, he could move and began inching his way forward. As soon as his boots disappeared in, Jessica looked at Rebecca and jerked her head to the vent. The medic nodded and stepped onto Jessica's improvised step ladder. "Oh wow," Jessica muttered. "You are light."

"Um, thanks, I guess." Unlike Daniel, Rebecca slid right on in.

"I'll be waiting next to the door," Jessica called out sourly before leaving the dungeon.

Edward and Billy

Edward glared at the red, flame-inscribed door before him. It was the third locked door that he and Billy had run into since the kitchen. So far, the rest of their investigation since the storage room had proven interesting, but had brought them no closer to finding an exit. On the terrace, they cleared the zombies out, but only discovered a few plants that Billy thought were medicinal. The weird part was how the terrace was structured. It hugged the wall mostly, but one section diverged and ran straight into the wall of the observatory. Edward could understand it if it lead directly to the observatory's door. But all they could see was the wall. Unable to do anything they moved on and found a door that lead them back into the facility.

They entered into a seminar room. Desks were arranged in rows of four and columns of three with a pathway going down the middle and two more on each side. Each row occupied a lower level of flooring from the one behind it. Railing went along the sides and provided a boundary as the floor that ran around the desk area stayed level. Inside the boundary the floor dropped in levels. The back railing was divided into two parts. Each desk had a computer screen. At the front was a platform with speakers and a podium, with a microphone on it. There was a large screen behind the podium. To the right were two doors and an artist's scaffolding. The double doors closest to them were guarded by more of those weird lock knights. The door on the other side seemed normal. At the opposite side of the room were double doors that led into the main foyer. On the left side of the room was a pathway that led to a small table and a wilted plant. All along the walls were large paintings - most of them depicting violence and pain. The police officer was intrigued as to what information could be found on the screens, all the desk screens were used solely for viewing, except for a random switch. The podium contained a hard drive, but was password protected, although no keyboard was in sight.

The confusing podium was frustrating enough that the pair simply moved on. They checked the single door and found it unlocked. It led into another hallway with a few more walking corpses. Between Billy's knife and Edward's handgun, they quickly cleared it. They checked the double doors first and found a library. A pulpit was right in front of them with a map of the entire facility. Shelves of books lined the wall with several chairs for the busy reader. To the right was a desk and an old, dusty computer. Behind it was a painting and microfilm. In front of the desk was an unstable stepladder, and two computers. The weird part of the room was an old-fashioned lift in the back corner. However the handle used to turn the crank and raise the platform was missing. Next to the desk was another locked door with a candle lantern on the wall by it. Billy had lit up the candle, and to both of their surprises that unlocked the door. But to their dismay, all they found were more books and more zombies. It was when they returned to the hallway did they find this latest door.

"How many of these locked doors do we have to keep finding," Edward muttered to himself. "Before we find the damned exit."

"Well, at least, we have enough ammo to keep the monsters at bay," Billy commented. "In fact, we could just blast open the door with one of the grenades we found."

The Bravo member seriously contemplated the idea. His mind went back and forth between his anger at the door, and the giant scorpion they ran into earlier. Finally, he shook his head. "Let's just see if we can't find the key or something else."


	8. Monsters & Suspicions

Daniel and Rebecca

"How can you stand it?" Rebecca interrogated, her voice echoing out of the vent. She sniffed, trying to get the metallic smell of blood out of her nose.

"It's pretty easy," Daniel answered as he picked himself off the floor. "My sense of smell is pretty weak."

And Daniel was very thankful for that as he peered around in the room. Next to the spot where he landed was an old-fashioned well. But he knew that the water at the bottom of it was not safe for drinking. The biggest hint for that conclusion was the iron cage that hung over the entrance of the well. He knew he was in a torture room. Right next to the well were a pair of iron maidens, stained with dry blood. Past them, lined against the wall were spiked chairs that had been hosts to several victims. He took an unsteady breath. The room had been creepy in the video game. Here, it was nightmarish and drove the point home to how inhumane Umbrella had been. The flickering torches only added to the sinister mystique.

Above him, Rebecca finally reached the vent's exit. Her gaze was locked onto the height between her and the floor. "Can you help me down?"

The simple request was enough to snap Daniel out from his disheartening gaze. "Yeah, sure." He quickly turned around, eager to look at something much more pleasing than this place. He placed his rifle against the well, and held up his arms toward her.

Even with Daniel's now standing beneath her, there was still several feet between them. She wasn't sure that she could reach him. Cursing her height, Rebecca slowly pulled herself out of the vent, inch by inch. When half of her torso was out, she tried to reach down with her hand. To her vast annoyance, she still couldn't reach Daniel's own hand, though he was now standing on his toes. Hesitantly, she pulled her body out another inch. But when she tried to reach again, she accidentally caught sight of the rest of the room. "Oh...my..." The zombies were terrifying at first. The z-dogs were a rare opponent and a quick fight. But here, there was nothing to stop her from just staring at the fingerprints of humanity's dark side. "How could anyone do this?" She mumbled to herself.

"REBECCA!"

She blinked and looked down to find a wide-eyed Daniel. She didn't know how long she had been staring, but she quickly understood what the soldier was anxious about it. While her mind was occupied, her body continued to slide itself out. And as gravity was finally able to clasp firmly on her and pull her toward the ground, it was obvious that she was too far out. Daniel's decision to stand on his toes backfired as the medic came falling down, crashing them both to the floor. "...ow."

"Sorry, sorry," Rebecca rapidly declared as she tried to get her bearings back. As she adjusted to the new change of location, she blushed when she realized that her face was only an inch away from Daniel's. The high school student didn't notice since one of his hands was now rubbing a small bump on his forehead. Rebecca knew that bump was caused by her head, since a mirror bump was forming on her forehead. Before Daniel could notice how close the two were, she pushed off the floor and away from him. "This is happening way too often."

"Well," he grunted as he sat up. "Better this than getting bit."

Now that he didn't fill her entire line of vision, she was stuck with looking at the rest of the room again. She shuddered. "How can this help with medicine?" She breathed.

"I'm pretty sure that no kind of research was going on here," Daniel reasoned, grabbing his rifle. He stood. "Beyond the sadistic kind," He amended.

"I don't like this place," Rebecca whispered, finding herself transfixed again.

"Neither do I, come on," Daniel commanded, eager to be done with the room as soon as possible. He grabbed onto her hand and led her past the iron maidens into a large nook in the wall. He paused as he saw the power box. He involuntarily glimpsed at the ceiling. With deep displeasure, he marked the large hole up there. _So, that's where it comes in._

"What is it?" Rebecca asked, looking between the power box, the hole, and him.

"Nothing." He stepped up to the electronic and didn't bother with the manual on top of it. To stop the bleeding steam in the broiler room, he needed to adjust the pressure from here. _Why the heck is this important equipment in here and not the broiler room itself? Right, good, ol' crazy Spencer just has to have his little tricks._ The thought made him angry. He reached out and flipped the five switches. He didn't remember the exact order, wasn't even trying to really. But to his small surprise, (and Rebecca's larger one) the machine alerted them that Daniel had fixed the problem. The door agreed with the power regulator as it clicked open. Daniel could feel the ceiling hole staring at him. _I'm not prepared!_

"How did you -?"

"Never mind," Daniel cut her off as he tried yanking her toward the door. "Let's get out of here, I don't like it."

"Huh? What? Why?" Rebecca had a strong feeling that his new anxiety had nothing to do with the room's ghastly decorations.

"Just move," Daniel implored, ruing the fact that Rebecca was slowing them down. A second passed. Then another. Abruptly, he let go of her hand, and flipped the safety off the M16.

"Daniel, what are yo-." For a second time, Rebecca was interrupted. But this time, it was not a human voice. She thought she heard a monkey, an anguish, hostile howl. But that was too absurd. Before she could analyze it, Daniel, whose face was a mixture of fear and anger, shoved her away from him. She landed hard on her rear end after backpedaling for a few steps. Before she had a chance to be indignant, rifle fire roared in her eardrums. Her hands shot up to her ears to make the sudden cacophony bearable. Her confusion was growing as quickly as her anger.

All of it vanished when it landed in front of her. Time just stopped for her. Numbly, she realized, that it almost was a monkey. Only it was a white baboon. A white baboon that had patches of enlarged muscle actually tearing through its skin. A white baboon that now yowled at Daniel. A white baboon that featured several bullet holes, but showed no sign of slowing down.

 _An eliminator_ , Daniel identified through gritted teeth. He squeezed the trigger and another three rounds tore through the Umbrella experiment. The second salvo, when added to the first, took the eliminator down another level.

But it also pushed it back another foot. And, with sudden horror, Daniel saw Rebecca down his sights, next to his target. "Get away from it!"

Rebecca was all too happy to follow the emphatic order as she crawled backwards. The movement grabbed the attention of the eliminator.

Daniel could see this scene as it happened in the game as though he were playing it now. He now regretted what he said as he remembered how the original scene ended. "Not that way!" He yelled as he moved forward.

Rebecca's retreat was brought to a sudden stop when her hand pierced through the stone floor.

The eliminator jumped at the unprepared target. Its target tried to counter but it couldn't stop the monster from sinking its fangs into the human's outstretched arm. Before it could disarm and enjoy its first meal in ages, the eliminator heard the thunder again before it lost everything as metal struck through bone and brain.

The monster went limp and fell to the ground. But Daniel was still moving even as he tried to keep the tears and blood from falling.

Fear replaced confusion as Rebecca felt gravity trying to pull her through the new hole in the floor. Her right made a desperate grab for something, anything to hold onto. Her efforts were futile as her body was falling into the darkness. Then, a hand grabbed her wrist and began a tug-of-war against gravity. Her fall was halted. And without knowing, Rebecca's other arm snapped forward eager to find anything to hold onto.

Daniel roared in pain, but he didn't let go. With extra motivation, he pulled as hard as he could. He was rewarded as Rebecca found herself on stable ground. She laid there for a moment, panting, happy to be safe again. But as her mind began replaying what just happened to her, questions exploded in her mind. "Thank you for saving me," She started as she pushed herself off the floor. "But I, oh my god!"

"Please tell me you have some morphine," Daniel whispered as he tried to stop the tears. "It really, **really** hurts." He sat there clutching his left arm, blood dripping through his palm.

"Give me a second," Rebecca said as she switched to medic-mode. A moment later she had herbal medicine ready as she scooted up to him. "You need to move your hand out of the way."

Daniel nodded and slowly did so. Rebecca frowned as she pulled back his sleeve, ignoring his hiss as she accidentally touched the injury. The baboon's fangs were long and punctured four new holes into his arm. But she had enough to cover each bite area. Once she stopped the bleeding, she pulled out a strip of gauze bandages and wrapped it around the arm. "There, you should be okay now."

"Thank you," He said as he steadied his breathing, the pain receding. He gazed at the monster's corpse. _I can't remember. Does it carry the T-Virus? Am I infected now? Or am I immune?_ Daniel frowned. Only time would tell.

Rebecca followed his gaze and shuddered as she studied the new creature. "It shouldn't even be possible." She whispered to herself. Then she thought about it for a moment. "It **shouldn't** be possible." She turned to Daniel, suspicion flaring in her eyes. "How did you know about that?"

Daniel blinked as he was pulled out of his own dark thoughts. "Excuse me?"

"You...you knew this would happen," Rebecca accused him. Her mind was having trouble with the implications but she kept talking over them. "You **knew** that this...this...thing would attack us here. You knew about the power regulator. You even knew about the hole! How!?" She cried as she felt the confusion overwhelm her.

"It's set-up like a horror story," Daniel countered uneasily. "The dungeon, the torture room. The hole in the ceiling. It's not that hard to predict if you think about it." He rambled, desperately trying to keep her away from the even-weirder truth.

"And the hole?" Rebecca pressed as she thought over his reply.

"You didn't see the cracks in it?"

Rebecca was about to say 'no' when she stopped to think about it. The room had been distracting in a disgusting way. And Daniel was in a rush the entire time, pulling, urging her to keep moving. When she tried to remember how the floor had looked before the hole, all she could do was draw a blank. "I don't remember," She admitted after a minute.

"Is it that hard to believe?" He asked, referring to his explanation.

"Yes, yes it is," She maintained stubbornly.

"So, what explanation do you have?" He shot back.

That brought her entire argument to a halt. "Er...well..." She trailed off. Daniel watched her expectantly. Suddenly, she found his stare to be extremely vexing. It was now much harder to concentrate.

"....well, what?"

"I don't know!" She snapped back at him. A part of her winced at her harsh reply. After all, he just saved her life, twice in less than a minute. But she was angry and confused and hated this place with its monsters and evil giant spiders. "But, but I'm onto you!" She declared.

Daniel rolled his eyes at her. Rebecca barely held back the urge to slap him. "Come on," He suggested as he stood off the floor. "We shouldn't keep Jess and the others waiting."

She wanted to say something, anything that would make him tell the truth. But then she found herself second-guessing herself. What were the other options? He was too young to be a part of Umbrella. He was a soldier. So far, he'd done nothing but help her and Edward. He'd just been bit because he was saving her! Despite all that, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something incredibly off about him.

For the time being, though, she wasn't going to keep arguing. "...you're right. We still need to get Kevin to a hospital." She slowly stood before following him to the door.

Daniel carefully opened the door and slowly marched into the next room, rifle at the ready. The room was trashed. Dead and broken display monitors lined against the wall. A table sat before the monitors, holding a cup and some equipment. On the opposite was a single bed. It was stained with brown splotches all over. From her spot at the door, Rebecca couldn't tell if the stains were from dirt, blood, or something else. In all honesty, she didn't care. Daniel studied a white board with messages on it. But there was nothing of value to glean from it. A busted locker was next to the white board. And, to complete the mystique, a single, overhead light, flickered weakly as it struggled to stay functioning.

But when Rebecca took another step inside that's when she saw the body. It was lying haphazardly on the floor next to the bed. She trained her gun on it.

"It's already dead," Daniel assured her. "Looks like Jessica already swept through here." He gave up on the board and motioned for Rebecca to follow him back to the hallway.

Billy and Edward

"What's going on here?" Edward asked as he descends another flight of stairs. His question was directed at Jessica who just finished climbing back out of the portrait.

Jessica pointed a thumb down the stairway. "Just finished checking out the basement. Ran into some giant spiders." She grinned at Shantia. "Classic."

Edward groaned at the news of a new monster to deal with. "Were you able to find anything else down there? Maybe a secret passage that leads outside of the facility?"

Jessica's cowboy hat shook with her head. "Nada. Found bullets and herbs. But not much else. Oh, and a dungeon," She quickly added.

Billy paused at that. "A dungeon?"

"Yeah," Jessica said excitedly. "A real-live dungeon with chains and everything!"

There was a look of utter disbelief on Shantia's face. "Why the hell is there a dungeon in the basement?"

"This whole place feels like it was designed by a madman," Edward mutters to himself. He pointed up at the balancing statue. "Can we take that handle? It looks like it's a part of a lift we found in the library."

"Uh-uh," Shantia promptly answered. She gestured to the portrait stairwell. "You take that and you'll lock Sims and Rebecca down there."

"We could just replace it with something else," Billy suggested.

"Good idea," Jessica declared, already climbing the stairs.

"Wait until we actually have something to replace it with!" Edward ordered as he scrambled to follow her.

"Or you could just wait for us to come up, Jessica!" Daniel yelled from the basement.

"Even better," Jessica said as she walked up to the statue. "You two have ten seconds to get up here!"

"What? Can't you just wait for us to get to the top?" Rebecca protested, her voice echoing out into the main hall.

"Eight!" Jessica started.

"Give us a break here!" Daniel objected, his boots now pounding on the cement stairs.

"Six!" Jessica happily carried on.

"Jessica!" Rebecca yelled as she charged up the stairs.

"Four!"

The pair burst out onto the mezzanine, gasping for breath. With a sly grin, Jessica swiped the handle from the scales. With a mechanical click, Dr. Marcus slid back into place, barring passage to the basement. "And now where's the library?"

"Library?" Daniel gasped as he calmed his breathing down.

Edward stepped toward the soldier, his eyes locked onto Daniel's bare, bandaged tricep. The bloody sleeve, now velcroed around the middle of Daniel's bicep. "What happened?"

"A new monster," Rebecca announced sourly.

"Wait, a new monster!?" Jessica repeated loudly, and with a look of disappointment on her face. This provoked an annoyed glare from the medic.

"Details," Billy asked as he leaned over the stairway to look at the others.

"It looks like a white baboon with extra muscle and very pointy fangs," Daniel described as he checked his ammo. To his chagrin, his magazine was empty. "It's fast and likes to jump at you."

Edward struggles to keep his cool as he digests this information.

"Kid." Daniel looked up at Billy. "Is that a scratch or a bite?"

Daniel slid a fresh magazine into the rifle before letting the bolt go forward. "A bite." Instantly, he could feel everyone staring at him. _...this sucks._

"Maybe the baboons can't infect people," Katelyn weakly offered from her spot on the floor.

"Yeah, it's probably just the zombies," Tim parroted as he supported his girlfriend.

Daniel had to resist the urge to look at Edward. It wasn't hard to hear the older cop's irregular breathing, though Edward was making a good effort to hide it. "Regardless, we still haven't found the exit."

Billy granted two mental points to Daniel. "You're right. We were just about to check out the library elevator. If this handle works, we can get onto the third floor."

"Sounds like a plan," Daniel declared as he started climbing the stairs.

"Is there anywhere else we have yet to check?" Rebecca inquired of the group.

Edward glanced at the set of double doors opposite to the dining room. "We haven't checked those yet. Everything else we've checked on the second floor is either locked or already searched." He pulled out a map. "According to this map, we've found those double doors lead to a hallway connecting to two new rooms. Of course, there's still the whole third floor."

Daniel froze when he heard Edward mentioned the only set of unexplored double doors. He quickly countered, "We should check out the library thing first."

"There's no reason why we can't check both. We have enough people," Shantia reasoned, an odd look on her face as she stared at Daniel. Billy also raised an eyebrow at Daniel.

 _What do I do? What do I do?_ Daniel knew what was in the hallway. And he knew what was needed to take those monsters down. _Fire, we need fire._ "Make sure you have enough firepower. We don't know where those baboons might be."

"Don't worry," Edward assured him as he patted the new grenades hanging off his vest. One of them was bright red.

Daniel breathed a mental sigh of relief as he noticed the incendiary grenade. Then he paused. "I'll come with you," He said as he started going down the stairs. "Jessica, Billy, and Shantia can check out the library, while us three," He gestured to himself and the STARS members. "Can check out that door."

"I'm afraid not," Edward decreed in his official voice. "I want either Rebecca or myself staying with Billy at all times."

"Rebecca then. You know Jessica'll find some way to get into trouble. We'll need the medic with them," Daniel outlined, speaking rapidly.

"Hey! I like trouble," Jessica yelled out.

Edward nodded his assent. "Alright, let's go with that."

Rebecca, on the other hand, shot an accusing glare at Daniel. _He's trying to keep me apart from Edward._

Daniel ignored her as he walked up to Edward. "Is it alright if I get one of those grenades? I have been trained to use them."

The burly Bravo almost said no before he thought about it. Very reluctantly, he said. "Alright."

"The red one, if you don't mind. I like red." Daniel mentally winced at just how awkward that came out.

Edward noticed it to, but did no more than raise an eyebrow before handing over his only incendiary grenade. He gazed up when Rebecca climbed the last step. "Keep an eye on him now."

Rebecca flashed him a thumbs-up before she, Billy, and Jessica departed.

"Stay close to me," Daniel whispered to Shantia. She nervously nodded back, unsure of what was unsettling her comrade.


	9. Taking Casualties

Rebecca, Billy, and Jessica

All she wanted to do was talk with Edward. There was so much that he was missing out with their frustratingly brief conversations. She knew that they still needed to get Kevin to the hospital as fast as they could. But she was just so confused right now. Why was Umbrella committing all of these atrocities? Was there a cure to their nightmarish virus? And who the hell was Daniel?

She felt guilty about it, considering all of the implications of the first two mysteries, but she was much more interested in Daniel. He was a much less frightening, much less grotesque mystery to think about. But the more she tried to solve him, the more frustrated she became. It was impossible for him to know the things he knew. Just impossible. If he simply knew about the layout of the facility or the train, she would've simply concluded that he was an Umbrella spy. But that's not all he knew. He seem to know exactly where and when the monsters would pop up. _Well, at least with the baboon_ , she reminded herself. _But still, what can possibly explain **that**!?_ She felt a headache coming on as she walked with her new team into the conference room.

But as she regarded her companions, she felt a little relieved about that. The truth was, she was confused **and** scared. When they had lifted off the RPD in the city, she had tried to mentally prepare herself for the worst. This was far beyond what she even thought of trying to prepare for. She bottled it up, kept it out of her expression as best as she could. But after those... _spiders_ , she thought with a shudder, it was now so hard to keep up the act. And while Jessica seem to be happily preoccupied with the possibility of killing more monsters, she could feel Billy observing them both even as he lead the way to the library. She didn't mind if he noticed her frustration, but the fear was something she didn't want him to know about.

After they entered the library, Billy walked over to the lift in the back of the room. The handle fit into the empty slot easily. He looked at how big the elevator was and then back at the other two. "Only two of us are going up."

Shantia, Daniel, and Edward 

Daniel hated this hallway. And that truth made Shantia very nervous. A part of her chided herself for not telling him to keep it cool. After all, Edward was right there and the plan was to keep their origins, or any hint of them, secret. But, that was something else that made her nervous. Edward wasn't noticing. And it wasn't because he was so focused on the current mission. The fact was Edward didn't look good. He was pale, he was sweaty, and his breathing was irregular. Granted, he didn't look like death, but compared to how he looked earlier on the train, Shantia's confidence in him was plummeting. He should have remained in the main hall with Tim and the others. _Of course, he'd probably shoot that idea down._ Either way, Shantia kept her rifle in the high ready, while consistently glancing at Daniel for a sign of when things were going to get worse.

The hallway went right after they entered through the doors, then quickly executed a hard left. The hallway then made a ninety degree turn to the right. But before that turn, there was a single door. Shantia watched as Daniel looked back between the door and Edward. "We should skip it, while we finish the rest of the hallway."

Edward shook his head stubbornly. "I took a good look at the map. There's another door at the end of the hallway and that's it." He studied the two soldiers. "You two check out that room, I'll take care of this one."

Now it was Daniel's turn to study the Bravo team member. Edward raised an eyebrow as the male soldier refused to break eye contact for an entire minute. Finally, he nodded. "Very well."

As soon as Edward checked the door, then entered the room, Shantia blurted out, "What was that about?"

Daniel was very quiet when he answered her. "I might have just let him go to his death."

"What!? Why?"

"Because we never made any molotov cocktails," Daniel explained, depressed. He slung his rifle onto his back and pulled the incendiary grenade from his pocket. To Shantia's shock, he pulled the safety pin as he walked toward the edge of the hallway.

She followed after a moment. "Do you really have to be so cryptic?"

"You'll see." And, without checking the door, he started back down the hallway.

"What are yo- ?" She froze as she heard it. A slithering, moist noise squelched in their hallway. And it was getting closer. "What's that?" She whispered to him as they both backed away.

"A leech zombie." Daniel waited, carefully listening to the monster as it came closer. And, at the right moment, he rolled the grenade down the hallway at the turn. He smooshed both of them against the floor. It did not stop Shantia from getting her first look at the leech zombie as it stumbled into their side of the corridor. It would have looked human, if it weren't for the green, slimy tint of its skin and 'clothes'. She only had a second to see it in all of its 'glory'. Then the grenade exploded.

Fire engulfed the monster and it screeched. It convulsed and flailed in a mindless attempt to stop the flames. But it was pointless. The creature actually melted away. And, to Shantia's pleasant surprise, the leech zombie's own slime was enough to put out the fire along with it. "Well...that wasn't so bad," She commented as she climbed to her feet.

"It's weak against fire," Daniel droned as he stared at the burnt spot.

Shantia paused, gears clicking in her head. In front of them, the sound of bullets echoed. "Daniel, how many of those grenades did Edward have?"

Looking completely miserable, he answered, "I just used the only one."

Jessica, Rebecca, and Billy

_Finally!_ Jessica thought to herself as she and Rebecca stepped onto the lift. Of course, she won the debate that the girls get to go up while Billy had to stay behind. The medic had put up a storm of an argument, complaining that she was supposed to keep an eye on Billy. Jessica wouldn't hear it. She knew Rebecca was timid when it came to fighting and that meant a higher kill count for herself. That and she had a secret plan for the teenage cop. Of course, she didn't say that out loud, there was no way either of them would accept it. What finally breached Rebecca's defenses was a simple fact. Neither she or Jessica were strong enough to elevate the other two. Jessica played "I'm a girl, not an amazon" card when Rebecca tried to have her do the lifting. Billy backed her up, though the cowgirl had a sneaky suspicion that it was just so that he could finally be left alone for a few minutes. _Meh, works for me. It probably helps that Billy helped save her life on the train, too._ So, after handing his shotgun and ammo to Rebecca, the convict turned the crank, sending them on their way.

Jessica put the memory away as they reached the third floor. They were now in an old, decrepit workshop. Along one side of the wall was a table with numerous tools. Next to it was a metal, utility shelf filled with all sorts of items. The biggest item was an ancient contraption occupying most of the room on the opposite wall to the table. It was connected to a clock. Rebecca studied it as Jessica checked the table for anything usable. "The hands are missing," Rebecca declared.

"Nothing over here," Jessica complained, unhappy to find no monsters.

Rebecca took one step toward the room's only door...only to jump back in fright when something big landed in front of her. "Eek!"

Jessica was instantly on the alert as she swung her firearms to aim at the disturbance. "Ooooo! Another classic movie monster!"

The monster was a large bug with four legs, two claws and a large, long abdomen. It hissed at them violently. "Wrong answer," Jessica grinned as she fired hot lead into its carapace. The 9 mm rounds barely flinched it. It charged at her. A shotgun shell threw it flying into the wall. Its legs spasmed as it died. "Hey!" Jessica protested as she whirled at Rebecca. "That was my kill!"

Rebecca huffed angrily. "I just saved your life and this is how you repay me?"

"Saved my life?" The cowgirl repeated disbelievingly. "I was about to go bug-killer on it!"

The medic scowled at her. "You could at least say thank you."

"...thank you."

Rebecca nodded before turning toward the door.

"For stealing my kill," Jessica muttered.

Rebecca's head twitched. She turned and glared at her partner. "What is wrong with you!? Can't you at least **try** to take our situation seriously?"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Jessica objected. "I am taking this seriously. I'm seriously racking up my kill score."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Rebecca shouted angrily. "We're under attack by monsters who want nothing more to eat us, and you've lost one of your friends! How can you still act like that?"

Jessica began to count off fingers. "One, Bart wasn't my friend. Heck, now that I think about it, he isn't anybody's friend. He just happened to be along for the ride. Two, don't you get how awesome this is? We're killing monsters! Like heroes out of some video game. Tell me something, do you honestly think we're going to go the rest of our time here without seeing a single monster?" She challenged.

"Of course not," Rebecca snapped.

"So, what's the point of worrying 'bout it?"

"They're trying to kill us!"

"Will worrying about it make it easier to deal with that?" Jessica asked in her thick Southern accent. "Or is it just gonna make things harder for ya?"

The Bravo bit back a retort. As much as she'd hate to admit it, Jessica was making sense.... she hated that. She glowered at Jessica for a moment before heading for the door.

"Ya need to learn to relax," Jessica advised as she grabbed a box of handgun ammo.

Daniel and Shantia

"We have to do something!"

Daniel felt a powerful urge to agree with his battle buddy. But, he also remembered how much it sucked to fight leech zombies. And, unlike last time, they would be the reinforcements and without any kind of fire to help them. Lastly, while his status was uncertain, he knew Shantia had yet to have been bitten. Edward's gun was still going off. "Be extremely careful," He warned her as he advanced on the door.

"Got it," Shantia said as she followed closely.

Daniel slid open the door. Shantia finally saw what kind of room Edward entered earlier: the bathroom. From the entrance, they could see the tiled floor and the start of a line of sinks. Much like the hallway, the bathroom abruptly veered right. And between shots, she could hear something wet and slimy moving around the corner. Daniel quickly advanced to the corner. He leaned past it, took a peek, and leaned back. "Clear. Remember, don't let any of it bite you." He warned her as they rounded the corner. The bathroom took another hard right at the other end of the sinks, forming a U out of the entire room. They headed for the bathroom stalls on the opposite side. Before they reached the next corner, Edward crashed right in front of them. In the darkness, Shantia could see several dark clumps on the police officer. Edward was aiming down the wing of the bathroom.

Before Daniel could stop her, she knelt next to Edward, her mind focused on keeping her teammate alive. A noise yanked her attention to her right.

It was slimy, it was green, and it was missing its torso. Shantia could only stare in shock as two legs, held together by a sliver of a waist, ran straight at her. She barely noticed the scattered, giant leeches slithering around the room behind the monster. As the legs ran at her, they bloated, doubling in size.

"Shantia! Get out of here!" Daniel warned when he glimpsed the leech monster. He sprinted down the bathroom, making an attempt at pulling her away. But she froze. She didn't feel his hand, and his fingers slipped off. He did realize she wasn't following until he was a few feet away. By then it was too late.

Shantia was still trying to comprehend the warning and the situation, when the legs exploded like a balloon. She was blinded as green goo covered her face and her glasses. She was far more worried about the thumps of something more solid hitting her torso. Her worries upgraded into terrors as the things bit into her. She screamed. Her hands tried to swipe them off, but their teeth were anchored into her skin. She could hear Daniel yelling and firing. Panic began to spread throughout her as her efforts to free herself failed. Worse, she could **feel** her blood being sucked out of her. Her arms moved frantically, desperately trying to peel the leeches off. But the T-virus monsters were relentless as they continued drinking her dry. She was becoming sluggish, both physically and mentally.

A glimmer of hope finally arrived when she felt one set of teeth let go. In a second, another one stopped. Then another. Until she was finally free of the leeches. She could hear Daniel talking to her, but she couldn't say anything. She was just so tired. _I think I'll take a nap. And when I wake up, all of this will be a bad dream._ The last thing she remembered was the feeling of being dragged away.

Billy

He ignored the gun fire that was now occurring on the third floor. Even if he wanted to, there was nothing he could do about it. Instead, he meandered over to the door, enjoying solitude for the first time in a long while. In retrospect, he couldn't blame the police officer for being extra careful with him. As far as the public was concerned, he was a known fugitive, a mass murderer no less. Still, that didn't make it any less frustrating to know that he was constantly under watch. He knew that the cowgirl wanted nothing more than to get into a fight. He had guessed that she'd probably get herself killed in the first few hours of their incident. But, she had skill (or luck) to keep going without a problem. Plus, Rebecca, from what he had seen, wasn't helpless. Together, the pair could probably survive on their own for a few minutes. And that is exactly why he helped Jessica win the argument.

He glanced at the podium as he entered the conference room. He'd never been too good with technology. In all honesty, he'd had to resist the urge to blow it to pieces when he and Edward were trying to figure it out. He ignored it as he walked back into the foyer. The scale statue was still looking over the rest of the room as he closed the door behind him. In a moment, he noticed that something was off. The rest of the teenagers the kid had brought with him were a quiet bunch. But he could hear animated voices coming from the ground floor. He walked over and looked over the stairway railing. At the bottom, the pilot was still lying down unconscious as before. However, the everyone else surrounded a spot on the floor a few feet away. He quickly recognized the other three teenagers: the couple and the quiet, tall guy. What started the internal alarms was when he noticed that Sims was back. And the other soldier, Askew, was lying in the middle of the group. Edward was nowhere to be found.

"What happened?" He demanded as he reached the bottom step.

The kid looked up to him, the others backing away, letting Billy get a full view of the downed soldier. Private Askew was incredibly pale. Worse, she was covered in slime and bites. "We were attacked by two more leech zombies," Sims morosely explained.

Billy found it hard to muster up his early skepticism as he peered over the unconscious soldier. Now that he was up close, he realized that she was barely hanging on. A check on her pulse confirmed it. He gently laid her arm back down and looked back at the kid. "Where's Edward?"

"He's dead," The glasses-wearing soldier replied bitterly. "Leeches drank all of his blood."

Billy frowned. He may not have liked the guy, but Ed didn't deserve that fate. Especially since all he did was do his job. Just like the soldiers at the humvee. "Where's all of his stuff?"

"Still with him," Sims promptly answered. "Was too busy getting her out to get it."

"Then we'll have to go and get it," Billy declared as he stood. "The faster we move, the less time he'll have to become a zombie."

Sims's frown hardened, but he nodded. "Keep an eye on her," He requested of the stocky teenager. The guy nodded back to him.

"Keep your gun close," Billy added as he started toward the door. The kid was behind him when he opened the doors. Sims took the lead as they walked down the hallway, eventually leading him into the bathroom. Nothing attacked them the whole way. Edward was still lying where he died, now no more than a pale corpse covered in slime. "We gotta get this done fast."

Between the two of them, they quickly emptied Edward's personal inventory out of his pockets. They kept a close eye on the body the entire time. With a large measure of relief, Edward didn't reanimate. Once the supplies were secured, they rapidly made their way back to the main hall.

"How is she?" Was the first question the kid asked.

The quiet, brown-haired girl hesitantly looked at him. "She's gone," She whispered.

Billy inwardly groaned. _He's going to shut down again,_ he thought to himself aggravated. Instantly, another part of him chided himself. _I was like that once._ He turned to the last of the soldiers. Billy was surprised at what he saw. The sadness was there, and he looked tired as hell. But the kid only nodded once and sighed. "We'll have to...put her body elsewhere then."

Billy did a quick scan of the area, remembering which door lead where. He zeroed in on the portrait. The picture sat on a thin concrete wall and could easily ensure that she didn't come back to attack them later. He wasn't sure if zombies could open doors, but he'd seen enough of Night of the Living Dead to know that doors had a breaking point. Too bad they couldn't put Edward in there as well. "In there."

The kid quickly realized what he was proposing and nodded his approval. He grabbed some stuff before he told the other teenagers to empty his battle buddy's pockets. They took care of that while he and Billy re-opened the portrait. Billy ripped a piece of the recently-deceased soldier's uniform and wrapped it around her mouth. Only then did he and the kid carry her down. They didn't go too far back into the basement. They rounded the first corner and gently laid her down before walking back into the training facility. Their job was complete when they re-sealed the portrait.

The brown-haired girl and her boyfriend walked up to the kid. The boyfriend placed a hand on the kid's shoulder while the girl said, "We're sorry that happened. Is there anything we can do to help?"

Billy knew they meant cheering the kid and he was grateful for that. He didn't want any more teenagers out and about than necessary. The cowgirl had an unusual talent for the situation, but he could tell just by looking at these kids, they needed to stay far away from the monsters.

The kid sighed again and offered a weary smile. "Could you pray for her? She'll be a little surprised to find herself in Heaven so soon."

To the marine's surprise, the other teenagers nodded and formed a circle, hands joining. He sat back while they prayed for Shantia and added a late prayer to Bart. He wondered if they would pray for him like that if he bought the farm. They just finished when one of the upstairs doors opened.

Rebecca and Jessica

Zombies. Half-dead dogs. Leech men. Giant scorpions. Rebecca thought she nothing else could surprise her by now. But, at the moment, all she could do was stare blankly at the blue hoodie-wearing teenager next to her.

They were back inside now. After clearing the small workshop where the lift took them, the only door lead back outside out onto a terrace. The center of it was occupied by an active water fountain. It was circle with a marble statue of a robed woman holding up a vase. Water poured from the vase into the full fountain below, water spilling over the side. A weather-worn bench sat next to the fountain. At the opposite end of the terrace was another elevator that connected the terrace to the front porch. On the same side of the elevator, but at the opposite corner, was the only other door. Like the rest of the place, it was old. Its age denoted by the green vines and leaves that sprouted and covered half of the stone veranda.

All of that was ignored when their attention was grabbed by the cawing. Several z-crows sat here and there, waiting for a meal to show. Jessica shot two of them to begin the festivities. But hitting the last two proved to be incredibly difficult as they flew through the air. Rebecca knew she couldn't hit them with her lack of skill. In the end, the two birds were brought down by a single blast of the shotgun. Rebecca hope this incident would dampen Jessica's spirits. Apparently that was too much to hope for as Jessica happily found a box of shotgun shells. Rebecca located another helpful herb before she received her first shock.

All she wanted was a good look at the front porch. When she walked over to the stone railing, she could clearly see everything below her thanks to the moonlight. She wish she couldn't. The porch was beautifully crafted out of stone and added to the grand scheme of the place. It included a stone bridge that spanned a chasm between the training facility and the rest of Raccoon forest. And it was broken. She stared at it, as if the missing chunk would suddenly reappear at will. But no. They were cut off. The gap was too wide to jump across. The front door was not how they were going to escape this terrible place.

She wanted to scream. Out of frustration, despair, or something else, she didn't know or care. Jessica noticed her predicament and only shrugged off the new discovery. Rebecca clearly remembered what she said. "Never thought it was going to be that easy getting out of here. C'mon. If ya really wanna get Kevin out, ya'll keep movin'."

Once again, with barely-restrained frustration at the cowgirl, Rebecca pulled herself away from the stone railing and followed Jessica back inside. The next room seemed to take up the rest of the third floor. It was an expansive room that featured three pits next to the left wall. Each pit came with a cage that hovered over them. One of the cages had collapsed into its pit. Over to their right were the cranks for raising and lowering the cages. A little past the cranks was a stairway that led back down to the second floor. Across from them was another double door with two more mechanical knights to lock it.

They had taken two steps inward when Jessica asked, "So, ever had a boyfriend?"


	10. Fire Doors and Clock Doors

Rebecca and Jessica

"....you're kidding, right?"

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because that's how I kid. No, c'mon, answer the question. Got a boyfriend?"

Rebecca struggled to find a meaning in this conversation. She gave up after a moment. "I don't have time for this." She muttered before she resumed exploring.

"I'mma gonna to take that as a no, which I'm not surprised since ya must stress out over everythin' and that'd keep guys from wantin' to ask ya out and stuff," Jessica theorized as she wandered over by the cages. She glanced down into the pits and noticed something shiny in the middle one.

Rebecca gritted her teeth as she tried to shut the cowgirl out of her head. She was looking over the pulley system when she deduced that the remaining crank operated the middle cage. She left it alone for now as she continued, finding the stairwell back to the second floor not far from the pulley system. She paused as she heard a grunt behind her. When she looked, Jessica was out of sight.

"Now, if ya were smart, you'd find a guy who can make ya smile or at least be as stressed out as ya are so you two have somethin' in common," Jessica's voice echoed out of the pit.

The medic walked over and looked down. "What are you doing now?"

In the pit, Jessica pushed herself against the cage's metal skeleton as her hand reached for the key in it. "Almost...there....got it!" She exclaimed triumphantly as her hands snatched the small object. "Hey, it's got a fire thingy on it."

"A fire what?" Rebecca repeated while she watched the cowgirl scampered up the ladder.

"Here, lookit," Jessica replied, handing over the key before she finished her look around the spacious room. Rebecca gazed at the fire emblem at the end of the key and wondered what it meant. Jessica finished her search in a few moments, sticking her tongue out at the two mechanical knights blocking the huge door at the end of the room. Despite its size, the room was pretty bare. "Guess we're headed back down."

"Maybe Edward will know what this means," Rebecca hoped as she pocketed it. Together, they climbed downward and discovered another short hallway with two doors. The one at the far end obviously led back into the foyer. The other one though...

"It's unlocked," Jessica happily declared as she readied her handguns. "I wonder what we're going to run into this time.

 _Please not it be spiders,_ Rebecca slightly begged as her hand curled around the doorknob. She nodded to Jessica before throwing the door open, allowing the cowgirl to charge in before following a moment later.

The insectoid hiss was almost welcomed...almost. Glad that the shotgun was in her hands, Rebecca braced herself a moment before firing a shell into the overgrown, mutated cockroaches. Her insect flinched. Jessica's target charged forward as the nine millimeter rounds dented its outer shell.

"Okay, I'm gettin' sick of these things," Jessica admitted as she backpedaled. Another blast of buckshot halted Jessica's attacker. Two more killed them. "Damn it, I need something more - hello! What do we have here?" Jessica exclaimed. The small art room exhibited marble statues, intricate paintings, classical furniture...and one grenade launcher resting on the couch. "Hot damn! We struck gold!"

Rebecca didn't share in Jessica's elation. And it had nothing to do with the fact that Rebecca's ammo was low. "I'll hold onto that," She ordered while stepping toward the new, powerful weapon.

"Eh?" Jessica stared at her, sizing her up critically. "Ya can't have all of them now. What do I get?"

The Bravo really wanted to say "Nothing". But that answer was going to create more problems than solve them. "You can have the shotgun."

"Hmmm, fine. I've used them before," Jessica relented, shoving her handguns into her pockets before reaching out with open palms. Reluctantly, Rebecca surrendered her weapon and picked up the grenade launcher. "This thing is empty," Jessica declared, glimpsing into the weapons chamber.

"Here," Rebecca said before she handed over all of her shells, all eight of them.

"Aw heck, this ain't gonna be enough," Jessica muttered. Rebecca was about to snap something back before she realized that Jessica was talking about her handguns too. "I don't even have 'nough for full clips anymore."

"We need to start conserving," Rebecca advised as she grabbed a case of incendiary grenades next to the couch.

Jessica found another half-empty box of shotgun shells. "Aw, now you're tryin' to take the fun out of it."

The medic repressed the growl before she had an epiphany. "Think of it as a game."

"A game?"

"Yeah. See how many monsters you can kill with the least amount of ammo," Rebecca outlined hopefully.

"Hmmm...what do I get?"

"What do you get?"

"Yeah, what can I win?" Jessica pressed with a devilish grin. "If it's a real game, I've gotta be able to get somethin', right?" She asked rhetorically.

"Umm," Rebecca glanced around the room for ideas. "Well, how about some...chocolate?"

The deadpan stare was not very encouraging. "I'm carefree, not a kid."

"Oh, okay, how about money?" The medic tried again.

"How much?"

"Well...how about I pay you a dollar for every bullet you have when we're out of here?"

"Make it ten bucks a bullet, and we have a deal," Jessica countered happily.

Rebecca winced at the price tag but relented. "Deal."

Immediately, Jessica began counting her ammunition. "He he, at this rate, I'll have a couple hundred dollars coming to me at the end of this."

"Remember! You have to keep attacking or you don't get anything," Rebecca warned, trying to cover any possible loopholes.

"Oh, don'cha ya worry, I won't stop monster-huntin'. But at the rate we find ammo, I'll have a nice, large prize waitin' for me," Jessica predicted before she glanced at the door opposite to the one they entered.

Rebecca didn't like the sound of that. But she forced herself to forget that issue as she tried this latest door, which was painted blue and carved into thousands of tiny, watery waves. "Locked," She announced with a vexed sigh after she tried the handle.

"Looks like it's time to hook back up with the others," Jessica surmised as she headed back to the exit. "And perhaps set ya up with a new boyfriend."

"Give it a rest!" Rebecca barked out. She really hoped that Edward was there. She needed to fill him in and find a way to get away from Jessica.

The door standing between them and the foyer unlocked easily. With a turn of the knob, they saw the familiar statue of justice. "Edward?" She called out as they made for the stairs.

To her surprise, everyone was on the first floor. Billy was standing off to the side, while the other teenagers seem to be leaving a loose huddle. She mentally shrugged before she scanned for Edward. ....she could feel her heart beginning to race with fear when she realized he wasn't here but Daniel was.

"We're back! And with a key!" Jessica happily declared as she climbed down the stairs. The reply from the others was muted, adding to Rebecca's anxiety. "Hey Sims! Where are the other two?"

Daniel glanced at his feet while he sighed. "I've got some bad news."

"No, no, no," Rebecca muttered, pausing on the landing between the two floors. Even Jessica's good humor faded.

"We ran into two more leech zombies....and we lost both Shantia and Edward," Daniel wearily announced, his attention focused on Rebecca.

Jessica scanned the crowd and offered a frown. "Well....shit."

 _This can't be happening._ Rebecca inwardly moaned. _I'm the only one left now. I'm the only STARS here. Trapped in a facility with monsters, a mass murderer, a weird soldier, and a bunch of teenagers. What do I do!?_

"Where are the bodies?" Jessica asked after a moment of silence.

Daniel pointed at the painting. "We put...Shantia down there. Edward...he's still in that wing, in the bathroom."

"You lock the door behind you? Last thing we need is Edward coming after us," Jessica pointed out.

"He'd never do that!" Rebecca yelled in a sudden outburst of emotion.

"Okay, fine. Edward wouldn't. Zombie Edward would, and you know it," Jessica bluntly countered. "And we don't need to lose any more people than we already have."

Rebecca felt a powerful urge to strangle her. She tried to regulate her breathing, find some way to relax before she started crying in front of everyone.

"We still need to get Kevin to a hospital," Daniel reminded everyone. "Jessica, give me the key. Me and Billy will continue looking for an exit. You two can stay here and take a moment to relax."

"Hey, I don't need to relax. Nothing major happened to me and I can still keep at it," The cowgirl replied stubbornly. "If anythin', I would think **you** would need a break."

"I'll take a break once we're all safely out of here," Daniel answered just as pig-headed.

"Well, if you're goin', then I'm goin' too," Jessica retorted.

Rebecca peered at them and felt a stab of guilt. Here she was, technically in charge, and they were all holding it together better than she was. "I-I'm going too."

Everyone looked at her. Daniel spoke first. "It's not necessary. You're tired, you've... lost a comrade. You can use a break."

"And more monsters for me," Jessica happily added.

"No. You're right," Rebecca admitted, addressing Daniel. "Kevin still needs medical attention. We need to find a way out as quickly as possible. I'll go too."

Daniel wore a skeptical mask but didn't press it. "Before we go anywhere, we need to pass around the extra stuff." He gestured toward a pile of weapons and equipment, Edward's and Shantia's.

The Bravo medic took a deep breath to study her nerves as she looked over the items with the others. She gathered the collected herbs and began mixing them while the others swapped weapons and ammo. In the end, Billy took the grenade launcher on the account of that he was trained to use it, along with most of the grenades. He kept his personal handgun and his submachine gun as well. Rebecca protested, but her arguments were shot down which did her self-esteem no favor.

Shantia's assault rifle was reluctantly passed onto Tim. Everyone else in the scouting party already had two weapons, while Tim's handgun was given to Bruce. Edward's handgun passed to Daniel as his second weapon. Edward's grenades were split between Rebecca and Daniel. No one felt comfortable with Jessica having explosives.

After Rebecca finished mixing the herbs to maximize their effectiveness, she divided them among the party, reminding them how to apply it. With everyone re-equipped and prepared, they discussed what their next move was. Billy explained the location of the other fire door and led the way. It was a short, silent walk before they reached the door.

Inside, they found themselves in a large study. An enormous desk occupied the center of the room. On it were computers, papers, and other miscellaneous objects that created a sense of chaos. On the wall to their right were two small paintings. In front of them were shelves of books along with a plant on a nightstand. On the far side of the room was an ornate fireplace with a moose's head above it. In front of the fireplace was an ex-researcher's body. A small table was in the middle of the aisle. Two bright lamps sitting on the giant desk wasn't enough to light up every part of the room. And, as they walked in, the shadows seem to shift and turn with each step.

"Creepy," Jessica described with a pleasant smile. She wandered over to the room's only body and waited. The others searched through the place. Most of them at any rate. Daniel made a show of it but was only biding his time. As the search winded down with no major discoveries, that's when he suggested checking the moose's head.

It was a weird suggestion. But what weirded him out was that only Jessica commented on the weirdness. Billy only shrugged, while Rebecca had an uncomfortable glint in her eyes as she watched him. As in the game, Daniel found the spare clock's handle in the stuffed moose's eye. Rebecca's eye glint only got stronger at that point. Daniel was nervous about the follow-up conversation. How could he lead it toward where the hand was supposed to go without letting either Billy or Rebecca know that he knew even though he'd never seen the clock?

Jessica quickly jumped onto the significance of the clock's hand which negated that worry. But then he noticed that Rebecca was studying Jessica the same way now. Daniel didn't know if that was better or worse. And when he tried to suggest that only he and Jessica go check it out, he was shot down. Billy rightfully pointed out that this was their only lead as of now. And, Daniel couldn't point out that the other half of the basement was now accessible since he fixed the steam issue. At least, now without making it too obvious that he knew things he shouldn't.

As casually as he could, Daniel 'wondered' aloud on what time was needed. Two confused looks and one explanation later, the working theory was that a time was connected to the clock to unlock the clock doors that a few had already noticed. Thankfully, one of the clock doors was in the foyer so it was easy to pass off that he merely noticed it. That satisfied all but Rebecca. Daniel momentarily debated before he decided to go through and suggest they look their current stack of files for a clue to figure out the right time.

Of course, the right file was in Daniel's possession. The soldier explained that Tim found it earlier and passed it to him, but Rebecca was doing a poor job of hiding her suspicion.

The walk to the grandfather clock on the third floor was silent. Almost unbearably so. Daniel did his best to avoid looking at Rebecca, who he knew was staring at him. _What is she thinking? How would she react if she knew the truth?_

Rebecca knew it was impolite to stare. But whenever she had a puzzle thrown in front of her, she always stared at it until she figured it out. _He knows things. He knew about the ambush in the dungeon. But how is that possible? If he simply knew where things were, I might believe that he used to work here before. But that doesn't even make sense. He's younger than me. And no one has been here in years except the Umbrella paramilitary units. Could he be one of them? But, how do I explain the Army uniform? He has his own nametape and a unit patch._ She glanced at Billy. _Would he recognize it? Does he even care about anything besides himself?_

Billy moved with an alertness that was honed in his jungle campaigns. But that didn't mean he couldn't let his mind wander a little. _One Army soldier left. Kid's not doing bad so far. But he knows something. I mean, who checks a moose's stuffed head for stuff? It's almost like he knew that clock hand was going to be there. Strange but helpful. Maybe he has a strong sixth sense or something. Cowgirl is a piece of work. Nothing seems to break her fun except when there aren't any monsters to kill. Probably going to get herself killed if no one is keeping an eye on her six for her. Still, don't have to worry about her breaking down mid-mission. The medic I need to keep an eye on. Definitely one of those wide-eye naive types. But she's stubborn which is good right now, but I don't know how long she can keep up the tough-girl act._

Jessica frowned as they walked through up the stairs. No fighting equals bored Jessica. She tried to amuse herself with her new master plan. Now if only her two targets weren't stubborn mopey-heads, she mentally sighed as she glanced at Daniel and Rebecca. Honestly, why does everyone have to be so serious? _We have guns, know how to use them, and enough ammo to tear anything apart. We have a frickin' grenade launcher now! What's the point of having all of this firepower and not taking it at least a little easy. Must find a way to create the mood._

The mood continued to elude Jessica right up until they arrived back in the third floor workshop. She watched Daniel take out the hand and walk up to the grandfather clock and place the missing hand. It fit perfectly. She noticed Rebecca looking at her friend oddly. _Honestly, why do we even bother? It'd be so much faster if we didn't have to pretend that we don't know squat._

As per the file's directions, Daniel spun the hands until they were pointed at 8:15. The old clock rung out once before the giant, cobwebbed-covered gears behind it began to spin.

"Looks like it worked," Billy blandly noted.

"Yeah, now we have two doors to check out," Daniel said as he turned around, trying to avoid Rebecca's accusing gaze.

"It's time to split up, gang!" Jessica declared in her best impression of Freddie. "Sims, you're coming with me."

The glasses-wearing guy blinked as he turned his sight on her. "I am?"

"Yeah, come on, time's a-wastin'," Jessica ordered as she strode out of the workshop at a fast walk.

Confused but happy for an excuse to get away from Rebecca, Daniel followed. Billy walked at his own leisurely pace while Rebecca trailed behind him.

Daniel & Jessica

Jessica refused to let up her pace until they were all the way back in the first floor's west wing. Daniel didn't relish being here, Edward and Shantia weighed on his mind.

"A'ight, we need to talk," Jessica began while she slowed down.

"About what?" Daniel replied wearily.

"About you and Becky," Jessica answered as they turned around the corners.

Daniel sighed. "I'm trying to make it look natural. But-"

"That's not what I'm talkin' 'bout," Jessica cut him off.

"Huh? It isn't?"

"Nope, I think you two should be together," Jessica proudly declared, like it was the most intelligent plan ever.

Daniel stopped only a couple of feet away from the unlocked clock door. "...you're kidding, right?"


	11. Arguments and Mysteries

Rebecca and Billy

Not even the sound of gunfire and the moans of the undead could drive the confused thoughts from Rebecca's mind. The clock door in the foyer opened into a luxurious study. A large table occupied the center of the room, surrounded by embroidered chairs. The lace tablecloth had been partially pulled back to reveal the mahogany underneath. A single sheet of paper sat on the wood. A couple of hutches filled with books leaned against the left wall, while windows with red, old-fashioned curtains were on the right wall. At the opposite end of the room was a large fireplace that was lit and provided the room's only light. Rebecca dimly wondered who lit the fire. The room's inhabitants couldn't have, they all wore a researcher's garb.

The four walking corpses greeted them when she and Billy entered. Two of them had been partially eaten. This simple image helped paint a dark story. The four researchers probably had ran into the room in hopes of sanctuary from the virus, only to discover that two of them had been infected prior to their entrance into the room. Whereas the first two had to suffer the slow death of the T-Virus, their fellow scientists were forced to endure a much faster, and more painful death of being devoured.

Since all of Billy's weapons would have been overkill, Rebecca shot all four of them through the head with her Beretta. The room now clear, the pair of them walked around opposite ends of the table as they looked around. Rebecca kept casting glances at Billy every few seconds. Billy glanced over the lone sheet of paper before he started reading aloud.

"The Moon bows to the Earth

The Earth swears loyalty to the Sun

And the great Law of the Sun Governs all things.

This itself is the keystone,

The pointer to glory

All our hands Cannot open the door to the heaven."

He looked at her. "Think it might be a clue?"

"I don't know what to think anymore," She replied honestly before inwardly chiding herself for being so plain to the fugitive. Billy quirked an eyebrow but didn't press her as he folded the poetry in half. She watched for a second before she decided to continue forward. "Billy...what do you think of the others?"

"About what?" Billy answered blankly while he continued his sweep of the room.

"Do they...do they seem a little...strange?" Rebecca asked lamely.

"Not really, the cowgirl needs to think more, and the others I haven't seen too much of," Billy replied vaguely.

"....and what about Daniel?"

Billy picked up another piece of microfilm off the fireplace's mantle. He tapped his pocket to make sure he still had the other set. Now if he could just find something to read the film. "I'd say he's got some good instincts."

"Just good instincts?" Rebecca repeated skeptically.

"You think he's a psychic or something?" He relented as he faced her.

"I don't know, maybe? He knows things before they even happen," Rebecca reminded him.

"If that were true, then why are his two soldier buddies dead?"

The medic frowned as she went over the possibilities in her head. "Maybe....maybe it's limited somehow? I mean, in case he was psychic."

"You don't think that's a little far-fetched?" He pointed out.

"Zombies are supposed to be far-fetched," She answered stubbornly.

"...point taken. But he isn't against us, or I guess I should say, against you. What does it matter if he seems to have a little foresight?"

"He puts a lot of trust in you, you know that, right?" Rebecca countered a little annoyed by that fact.

Billy paused. _Yeah. Don't know why he does that. He should know better, no doubt he's been warned about my charges. Yet he doesn't seem to acknowledge them._ _I wonder... if he knows the truth..._ The fugitive pushed those thoughts away. "And what about you? You seem real suspicious of him but not me. Aren't you here to arrest me? Or did you forget that?" He inquired curiously.

Rebecca hadn't forgotten that. And she had thought to herself why she was placing any stock in her target. But that answer wasn't too difficult. "I haven't forgotten. And, I'm still going to keep an eye on you. But, I don't think you're going to try and stab me in the back either."

"Why?"

"...you didn't have to save me from the scorpion," She reminded him.

 _Oh, that's right. Feels like it's been hours since that time. How long has it been?_ "He was there too. Why does it matter if he gets a lucky guess or two? I'm pretty sure he's on your side."

"I know that, but I really think it's more than just some lucky guesses. He knows things." Rebecca frowned. "But he's not telling us either. And I'm not sure why he would do that unless he had some ulterior motive."

"You think the kid has an ulterior motive?" Billy asked skeptically. "No offense, honey, but I don't think he could be that devious."

"Rebecca," She insisted. "Then why doesn't he just tell us."

"I don't know. Maybe he's from the future and he's not trying to create some black hole thingamajig," The handcuffed man remarks off-handedly before he headed to the door.

Rebecca was about to say something when she froze. "...that might be it," She murmured.

"Hm, did you say something?" Billy questioned as his hand grabbed the door handle.

"That might be it," She reiterated loudly. "He might be from the future, and he can't tell us to avoid a time paradox."

"Are you even listening to yourself Rebecca? People from the future?"

"And zombies are any better!" Rebecca shot back exasperatedly. "I think it might be the best possible explanation. It could explain why he knows about specific events before they happen. How he knew about the baboon before it attacked us. He could have gotten that information from a future report or maybe even from an interview with one of us."

"Again, how come he's not able to prevent his friends' deaths? And why did he come back with a bunch of his friends instead of a squad of soldiers. Furthermore, why come back at all?"

Rebecca bit her lip as she tried to come up with answers. "I... don't know. Maybe that's just the cards he was given? And I think it's obvious that he's here to help."

"A moment ago, you were suspicious of him," Billy dryly commented.

"He confuses me. I don't like being confused," Rebecca admitted, walking to the door. "But now, now I can make sense of it."

"By believing in a far-fetched theory?"

"The evidence I've seen best supports it. And didn’t Holmes say, 'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?'" Rebecca countered.

Billy rolled his eyes and opened the door. "Let's just get out of this place."

Daniel and Jessica

"Don't you have anything better to do with your spare time?" Daniel asked wearily as they stepped into the other clock door. "Look, zombies. Have at it."

Four zombies began their slow, pointless march to the new arrivals. Jessica eyed them with a critical gleam as she hefted her shotgun. "I ain't goin' to let'cha go that easily." She waited until two of them were close enough, aimed right in between their heads, and pulled the trigger. Both zombies crashed to the floor as buckshot sliced through their skulls. "Heh, I'm goin' to be rich after tonight." Another shell equaled two more dead zombies.

The file had called this room the Operations Control room. It looked more like a large meeting room. The room was lit by three candle-shaped light bulbs that jutted out from the wall. The south wall was dominated by a large world map. The north wall was covered by a blank screen. On the wall opposite of the door was a series of photographs of people. In the center of the room was a long, thin table occupied with a dozen or so documents and folders. An elaborate, dusty rug covered the floor. More importantly, a running projector sat on a podium connected to an electronic, storage device.

Daniel took a seat on the projector's table before he pulled his rifle apart and began cleaning it. "Take a moment to relax. There's nothing we can do here without the microfilms."

"Wait, we came all the way here to do nothin'?"

"You yanked me over here," Daniel pointedly reminded her. "And, apparently, you did so for pointless reasons."

"Hey! It ain't pointless. Unless you find a way to chill, you're goin' to give yerself a heart attack from all that stressin'," Jessica argued. "A nice girl can help with that. And Becky seems to be right up your alley."

"Not interested," Daniel replied plainly.

"Aw, c'mon. Stop bein' such a spoil sport. Ya can't tell me you haven't even at least given it some thought."

Daniel shot her a blank stare before he glanced down at his bandaged arm. "This conversation is completely pointless. I don't even know if I'm going to be alive tomorrow night. We don't even know if we're not simply going to be teleported back to our world when this is over."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I bet the chances of that happenin' are one-in-a-million."

"The odds of us coming here was one-in-a-trillion," Daniel calmly countered.

"Yeah, but it ain't gonna happen and ya know it. I'm bettin' that we're gonna be stuck here for a loooonnnggg time. Might as well try to start fittin' in now, while we're killin' zombies and monsters side by side and provin' that we're good guys."

"I hope you're wrong," Daniel muttered before he started putting his rifle back together.

"You do?" Jessica said, befuddled. "Why?"

"Look at us. We came here with seven and now we're down to five. I want the rest of us safe at home before we lose anyone else," Daniel explained seriously. With a loud click, his rifle was ready to go.

"Okay, I admit, it sucks that we lost Shantia. But, she's a lot happier in heaven now, and Bart made his choice, so that's that. Let's just enjoy the situation. We're here and might as well make the most of it," Jessica suggested earnestly.

Daniel headed to the door with a frown on his lips. "You sound kinda heartless when you put it like that. Did they mean nothing to you?"

"You and I both know about that stunt Bart pulled on me," She replied crossly. "And, let's be honest, you two were never friends to begin with. I mean, sure, you guys might have had that whole 'we're-both-Army' thing, but you two never interacted much. You just feel really down about it because of where he's ended up, and you've never seen someone die before."

"That's not true," Daniel protested as he opened the door. "I saw my Gra..." _Wait, I wasn't actually there, now was I._

"That don't count, 'cuz A, you were just a kid. B, I bet he didn't git his throat torn out by a z-dog. C, he was old and probably well on his way out the door," Jessica countered.

"You don't have to put it like that," Daniel grumbled.

Jessica shrugged. "The point is, I'm right. You've got this whole 'hero' thing goin' for ya, and I'm tellin' ya, don't do it. I know ya get a kick out of it, and people like heroes. But we ain't in a Disney movie. If ya don't relax, take it easy when ya can, you're gonna cause problems ya don't need."

He paused and slowly turned his head to aim a precision 'What-the-heck' look on her. "...you think I have a hero complex?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, duh. Come on, look at yerself. You've been bitten, scratched up. By all rights, ya should be takin' a breather. But ya keep pushin' yerself 'cause you want all of us out of here ASAP."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Nothin'. But it's classic hero behavior. I'm just tellin' ya, ya need to learn how to chill. And, everybody knows that a good relationship can be a real stress-reliever," She patiently explained while she walked past him back toward the main hall.

"I can't believe you turned into a matchmaker," Daniel muttered as he followed behind her.

"I'm just tryin' to keep your best interests in mind. I don't remember much about the game series, but I do remember that it lasted longer than one night."

"They were working on Resident Evil 5, last I checked," He remembered quietly. "Resident Evil 4 was set in 2004, six years from now."

"See? We could be looking at six whole years of zombie-fightin'. There's no reason why you and Becky shouldn't git together."

"We might not be her-"

Jessica cut him off as she reached for the door leading into the main hall. "Don't gimme that crap about 'we might not be here for it'. We ain't gonna die and I seriously doubt that we'll get teleported back to our time, place, dimension thing. Might as well as look at the long-term."

Daniel's retort didn't materialize as they stepped into the main hall. Billy and Rebecca were already on the first floor headed toward them. "Find anything?"

"A poem and a microfilm, you?" Billy replied.

"Found a projector that can play it," Daniel offered.

"Handy."

Daniel glanced at the silent Rebecca, and half-surprised to see her usual suspicion gone. The medic looked worn-out, and although she still stared at him and Jessica, her expression was more...curious and confused than hostile trepidation. He wondered why the change, but Jessica took the lead and led the four of them back to the Operations room.

The projector was a huge box with two slots in the back of it with two cords snaking out of it. One by one, Billy inserted the two microfilms. On the wall screen, an overhead picture of the conference room popped up. The second image placed a series of red numbers and letters over the desks, ranging from 0-9 and A-F. One of the cords connected to an electronic device which spat out a blue MO disk after both microfilms were inserted.

Billy took it. "I bet this is how we'll unlock that podium computer."

"There's a computer in the podium?"

"Yeah. It needed a MO disk to unlock it. Guess this is it?" Billy explained.

"Then, what are all of those letters and numbers for?" Jessica asked.

"What do you think, Daniel?" Rebecca chimed in.

 _Why does she insist on putting the spotlight on me?_ He inwardly moaned. "Well...if I had to guess, there might be a secondary code to put in to unlock...something," The soldier answered vaguely.

"I remember seeing a lot of paintings in that room. Think one of them will open up and reveal a secret passageway too?" Jessica guessed as the group headed for the conference room.

"None of those pictures are large enough," Billy reminded her.

"Maybe they open up and reveal kick-ass guns," The cowgirl hoped for.

"That doesn't even make sense," Rebecca pointed out. "This is a training facility for medical and managerial personnel. Not a military base."

"Tell that to the grenade launcher."

Rebecca groaned, feeling a headache coming on. "That came with the Umbrella Investigation unit, remember?"

Jessica pouted. "Why do ya have to crush my hopes? Don't **ya** want some kick-ass guns?"

"We barely have enough hands for our current set," Rebecca countered.

"Do you two really have to argue about this?" Daniel thought aloud.

Both women shot him an annoyed scowl. But since that ended the argument, Daniel thought it was an overall victory. Billy walked silently as though nothing in the world bothered him. The conference room was still monster-free, which led to another complaint from Jessica that there wasn't enough action.

"Why do you need action?" Rebecca demanded before Daniel could run interference.

"Hey, would ya rather be stuck in a monster horror movie where only one person makes it out alive, or in an action film where the heroes only have to go through hell and back for their happy ending?"

The STARS officer blinked, completely surprised by the question. She shook her head after a moment. "That's...that's just silly. This isn't a movie."

Jessica opened her mouth when Billy announced, "47."

Everybody turned to gaze at his spot behind the podium. "The code?" Daniel guessed.

Billy nodded. "47 unlocks the system."

"Well, punch it in," Jessica ordered.

"There's no keyboard, except those," The convict reminded them, waving his cuffed arm over the conference desks.

"Aw right, the puzzle thing," Jessica recalled as she looked at the nearby desks. Each one had a single button and a screen on it. "Which ones do we need to hit again?"

"It should be these two," Rebecca called out, pointing at two of the desks. She pressed one button while Jessica took care of the other. The two screens lit. Then a mechanical noise filled the room as the two mechanical knights lifted their swords, unbarring one of the doorways.

"A'ight! Progress!" Jessica hooted.

"Looks like we're getting out of here," Billy declared with a small, happy smile while he descended from the podium's raised platform.

"...no, we're not," Rebecca quietly retorted.

Billy paused and quirked an eyebrow as he regarded her. _She said 'we', so she's not planning on leaving me behind._ "Why not?"

Looking miserable, she explained, "While Jessica and I were on the third floor, we could see out the front of the training facility. There's a chasm between us and the forest. And the bridge is out."

"You sure there's no way across?" Billy pressed, well aware of the resigned look on Daniel's face. _Almost as if he expected it._

Rebecca shook her head. "I don't think so."

"I want to know so. I say we make sure that there's absolutely no way across," Billy asserted as he took charge, a bit of frustration breaking through his calm exterior.

"Then let's go and see if it's really as bad as it looks," Daniel agreed.


	12. The Three Tablets...?

Scout Party

"This don't look good," Jessica declared bluntly.

The night sky was still cloudy, but another storm wasn't likely. And the moon provided ample illumination of their current situation. After being cooped up in the training facility for so long, Daniel enjoyed the breeze on his face. He imagined that Rebecca and Billy couldn't share his simple pleasure of being outside. Then again, he knew about the broken bridge since the beginning. _You'd think with all of the money can throw at construction, they'd build better bridges._

Then again, it was doubtful the bridge just collapsed due to poor construction. Say what you will about Spencer's obsession with traps, but the man built things to last. It was as luxurious as the rest of the front porch. Two pairs of marble columns stood on both sides of the white metal doors with curved brass vines covering it, giving the impression of an eighteen-century mansion. Two old-fashioned lamps attached to the pillars (with electric lights, of course) negated the need for moonlight. The pathway reminded Daniel of an ancient Greek temple ruin, with the marble sidewalk and the two parallel rows of broken pillars.

Outside of the straight stone walkway, two little patches of grass overran the small segments of land .To their left was an elevator that connected to the third floor's terrace. It was out of order, of course, because the battery had been removed. There was nothing other than the metal and stone fence off to the right. A mirror metal fence barred the other side too. It wouldn't have been difficult to jump over, but after a few feet, there was no way to traverse meaning that they simply couldn't walk around the facility to find another way to the forest. Because past the fourth pair of pillars, the marble bridge was divided into two by a yawning gap. It was as bad as Rebecca said. No way across.

Billy muttered a cuss word, while Daniel tried to nonchalantly glance at the top of the only unbroken pillar. "...what's that?"

"Ya sniff somethin' out, Sims?" Jessica asked as she turned her attention on him.

"Up there." He pointed and Jessica, followed by the other two, could make out a vague object on top of the pillar. "Might be useful."

Daniel still didn't know which was better. The previous suspicion or the bland acceptance that Rebecca and Billy now treated him with. "It'll have to be a two-person job," Billy noted as he walked over to the pillar. He looked over the others. "Who'll be climbing up?"

"Ooh, ooh, me, me!" Jessica cried while she hopped up and down.

"Three people would be more stable," Rebecca suggested, glancing between the pillar's top, Billy, and Jessica.

The cowgirl turned to Daniel and froze. Instantly, a devilish smirk appeared. "You're right, Rebecca. Three people would be better. Me and Billy will get yer legs so that ya can reach the top."

Rebecca and Daniel fixed a wary look on her.

"...what? Ya just said, it'd be better, and I agree wit'cha," Jessica said innocently.

"That's what's so suspicious," Rebecca muttered.

"Oh, c'mon. Time's a-wastin'," Jessica countered as she formed a foothold with her hands.

Billy shrugged before making a second one. "Remember, use your legs, not your back."

"Got'cha."

"Hey Army, come here and be a safety," Billy told Daniel.

Daniel frowned at Billy before slinging his rifle. He held up both of his hands. In case Rebecca fell, he'd slow her fall.

While keeping a close eye on Jessica as best as she could, Rebecca hoisted herself up. Jessica and Billy did their best to steady her before slowly lifting her up. Rebecca reached before she clasped onto the stone object. "Got it!"

"Whoops! Butter fingers!" Was Rebecca's only warning before her right foot was suddenly walking on air. Well, trying to, at least. Billy did his best to keep her up, but it only took another second before she was falling backwards. _Never should have trusted her..._

"YARGH!"

Rebecca winced. _That's not my voice,_ she knew. Her landing was soft and kinda squishy. She could not say the same for the poor soldier beneath her. "Sorry!"

"It's...all right," Daniel groaned, wishing that he simply had left his rifle next to something instead of slinging it. Now it was digging painfully into his back.

Rebecca scampered off of him as quickly as she could. Jessica offered a hand to Daniel with a grin. "Sorry 'bout that. Guess I just weren't ready for the weight."

"Suuuurrrreee, you weren't," Daniel replied sarcastically while he accepted the helping hand. The cowgirl pulled him onto his feet with a single yank. He immediately took off the rifle before he massaged his back as much as he could.

"So, what was it?" Billy inquired, staring at the small tablet, conveniently shaped like a gravestone in Rebecca's hands.

She held it up for him to see. "It says 'Discipline'."

Jessica groaned loudly.

"Now what's wrong?" Daniel wondered, though he already suspected the cause.

"Don'cha git it? It's probably part of some stupid lock or somethin'," Jessica guessed miserably. "I'm gettin' sick of these little scavenger hunts and all of this backtrackin' crap."

Daniel shrugged. "That's how this place was designed."

"I'm gonna kill the architect!"

 _He's already dead,_ Daniel noted to himself. "Anyway, we still have two other knight doors to check out," Daniel reminded them all.

"Fine, let's git this crap taken care of." Jessica shifted her gaze on the other two. "I think it's time that Billy and I got to know each other. We'll take the knight door in the conference room."

The handcuff-wearing man shrugged and headed back inside with Jessica right beside him. Daniel looked wearily at Rebecca. _Curse you, Jessica._ "Well, we'd better get a move on."

"We should," She quietly agreed before following him back inside.

After that little bit, they lapsed into a tense silence all the way up to the third floor. As uncomfortable as it was, Daniel couldn't say he was happy when Rebecca spoke. "So...would you mind if I... got to know you a little better?"

Daniel's first thought was that Jessica had somehow gotten to Rebecca. But then he immediately discarded that thought. _As if Rebecca would ever agree to any of Jessica's ideas._ ”I guess not."

Rebecca immediately ran into a dilemma. _Which question should I ask first? Is there even a point to this? If he's really from the future and worried about creating time paradoxes, he would have to lie for all of his answers._ She pondered on this conundrum before she realized the simple truth: her curiosity had to be sated. "Why did you join the Army?"

 _Okay, simple enough question,_ Daniel thought to himself. "Pay for college. I was planning on going after I completed the second half of my training, and the university I'm looking at is pretty expensive."

 _He seems honest enough,_ Rebecca judged. "What do you want to study?"

"History."

"Why history?"

"It's my favorite subject," He replied, slowly easing his guard down. "I've always liked it."

"I kinda found it dry," She admitted.

"That's probably 'cause you don't think of it as a story."

Rebecca looked at him curiously as they stood outside the knight door. "A story?"

"Have you never thought about it like that? History is essentially one big, long story about humanity," He explained, his enthusiasm picking up. "And I love stories."

"No, I never really thought about it like that," She confessed thoughtfully before they entered.

They were now in a large observatory with a grated walkway traveling along the circumference of the round room. Another set of steel doors were on the opposite of the room. At the halfway point between both set of doors was a ladder that went down onto a grated platform where the telescope's viewer could be accessed. With a grated floor, it was where the telescope resided along with pieces of electronic equipment could be accessed. Beneath all that grating, they could see water happily sitting and waving. Currently there was one zombie on the walkway, two in the center, and one still body in the center. The two humans took turns picking off the zombies before Daniel fired at the last body's head for insurance. The body twitched before it went still again.

"A trap," Rebecca muttered fretfully. "Do you think it was a conscious choice to do that?"

Daniel shook his head as he refilled his clip. "They're not intelligent. It was probably low on energy, laid down, and was simply waiting for something to walk to close to it." He awkwardly climbed down the ladder since it still hurt if he put too much pressure on his bitten left arm, while Rebecca checked the other set of double doors. She sighed when the door handles refused to obey her whim. "Locked."

"I found something interesting."

Rebecca walked away from the new barrier and joined Daniel on the central platform. At the base of the telescope were three indentations with corresponding lights. She pulled out the 'Discipline' tablet and saw it was the right fit. She pushed the tablet into the first indentation. "Looks like we still have to find two more."

Daniel was involved in a mental argument. _It's not the right space. It's supposed to go into the middle one. Then, by all means, tell her that. How can we? She already suspects us, why add fuel to the fire? Does it even really matter? The light is on anyway. I guess the order really doesn't matter. You'd think Spencer would have made it so that it did matter. Don't jinx us now._

"Daniel." The soldier pulled himself out of his thoughts as he regarded her. Rebecca wore a thoughtful expression aimed at him. "Is there something wrong? ....maybe something I overlooked?" She asked invitingly.

 _It's a trap! Well, duh! She's testing us. Do we accept? No! There's no point in pointing it out, if it doesn't matter._ The blond man shook his head. "I'm just...eager to be out of here."

She nodded, not quite satisfied by his answer. "I'm sure we all are."

"I guess it's time to regroup with Billy and Jessica."

“Wait a moment, if this is a way out, we should focus on this,” Rebecca suggested. “Instead of wasting time trying to find the other two tablets, let’s see if we can’t trick this. It’s just a machine after all.”  
  
 _They’re doing it to me again._ Outwardly, Daniel nodded in agreement. “Good idea.”  
  
Together, they looked back at the two empty slots. “First, let’s see if we’re lucky and they only require enough weight.” Rebecca leaned over the equipment and pressed her hands against the next empty space.  
  
 _Spencer wouldn’t make it that easy....would he?_ Daniel wondered as he watched. 

She frowned as she put more weight into it and still it wouldn’t click. “Okay, maybe it’s a little bit more than that.” She peered around the indentation before she let out a happy cry. “Looks like it has a motion sensor. So, if I just shove it right here...” She shifted where her hands were and tried again. There was a click as the light flipped on. “Yes! Now if we can just find a big enough item, we can trick it.”

Daniel struggled to think outside the box. But, truth be told, he was struggling to predict what was going to happen next. _If we can get this done...we’re going to skip so much. The gun room, the eliminator room. Gyah, is all my knowledge going to be completely useless?_  
  
“Maybe we can use these?”  
  
Daniel jerked out of his inner ranting. He saw Rebecca studying some of the electronic boxes with lights on the edge of the rest of the platform. He glanced back at the indentations. “They’re a bit big.”  
  
“We just need to put them in on their side,” Rebecca explained as she carefully checks the wires. With Daniel’s help, they unplugged two of the boxes after identifying the right wires. And, as awkward as the boxes were compared to the indentations, they did go in. The moment the last light blipped on, the entire observatory tower shuddered. Both of them grabbed onto the panel to steady themselves while the tower lurched downward. Then, their ride down ended almost as it began. With that last jolt, one of the boxes (which wasn’t that secure to begin with) fell out of its hole. Apparently, two out of three **was** bad. The tower started to rise back to its former position. Rebecca hastily grabbed it, shoved it back in, and kept a hand on it to keep it there.  
  
“Whoops,” Daniel idly commented with a small smile.  
  
Rebecca couldn’t stop a smile from twitching on her face. It was weird, to think anything comical could happen even here. The tower descended, the water level far below them continued to rise until the tower finally stopped. The water was now only two feet below the metal grating. A click told them the other double doors were unlocked. Rebecca slowly removed her hand until she was convinced that the box wouldn’t fall back out. “Well, it worked.”  
  
“Yep, let’s see where we are now.”

Jessica and Billy

If there was anything Billy was sure of, it was that this girl wouldn't shut up. But, some people gave up if you ignored them long enough. But after he ignored the first two of her questions, this is what she warned him. "Ya can try and pull off the 'silent badass' but that ain't gonna stop my mouth from movin'. You can either try and enjoy this conversation, or I swear to god that I will yak yer ear off wit' utter nonsense!"

Billy considered her ultimatum as they passed through the knight door. "...fine."

"That's better," She said appreciatively. They entered into another hallway that went only left before it turned right at a hard angle. A luxurious carpet muffled their steps, which explained why the zombie at the corner, who was currently walked pointlessly into the corner of the walls, didn’t notice them.  
  
With a mischievous grin, Jessica pulled out her new shotgun and stealthily advanced on the hapless undead. Billy pulled her back, receiving an annoyed glare for it. He pulled out his knife, walked up, and stabbed into the back of the zombie’s head.  
  
“You’re takin’ away my fun,” Jessica growled.  
  
“Need to conserve ammo,” He reminded her.  
  
The cowgirl harrumphed. “Fine. Don’t blame me when Becky gits pissed off at ya for makin’ her pay more.”  
  
They both ignored the other zombie at the other end of the hallway, on the other side of the double doors in the center of the main leg of the hallway. Billy arched an eyebrow at her. “Pay?”  
  
“Oh? You don’t know? Becky wants me to rein in my ‘recklessness’,” Jessica elucidated, complete with air quotes. “So, she’s payin’ me ten bucks per extra bullet when this is all over.”  
  
The zombie moaned and shambled towards them.  
  
“Steep price,” Billy muttered doubtfully.  
  
“Hey, can’t help it if she’s easy to manipulate, now can I?” Jessica countered with a grin. “She needs to learn to grow a thicker skin. Honestly, if I can bug her into that one-sided deal, how do ya think she’ll fare against malicious people?”  
  
 _Point for her,_ Billy admitted to himself. Then he paused. _What does that say about me after caving into her demands? Well, she hasn’t gotten me to pay her to shut up, so, still a level above Rebecca._  
  
“BOOM!” Jessica shouted happily as she pulled the trigger. Her shotgun blew the approaching zombie’s head to pieces. “Headshot!”  
  
“Alright, you’ve had your fun. Let’s keep moving.” They checked the wooden double doors and found them mercifully unlocked.  
  
Jessica took one look over the room and declared, “Poor Sims is missing out.”  
  
A life-sized chess board occupied the center of the room, except it only had three white pieces and two black pieces occupying the furthest three rows from them. With a king & two rooks versus a pawn & king, white had a decisive advantage. Beyond the gigantic chess board was a luxurious mahogany desk. In one corner was a stack of books threatening to overlap over onto the rest of the desk. Behind the desk was three man-sized windows with one facing directly out and the other two aiming off by small angles. While off to the left was a small and homely study area. A small table with an old-fashioned chair stood in front of a empty fireplace. A painting above the fireplace and a large globe in the corner added the description ‘class’ to the room.  
  
“He’s a chess player, huh,” Billy commented as he stepped onto the large board. _Figured, he looks like the brainy type._  
  
Jessica opened her mouth, then paused as confusion gripped her face. “Welllllll, maybe? I think he is. Never actually seen him play the game.” She rapped her knuckles on the pawn. “Wow, solid marble.”  
  
Billy mosied over to the desk. He found another chess board (regular-sized) hidden behind the small mountain of books. It was like the life-sized chess board, same pieces still on the board. The difference was their positions, the game was over with one side claiming victory.  
  
“Nothin’ over here,” Jessica announced after checking the study zone. “How about you?”  
  
Billy looked from the small board to the giant board. “....I think I found another puzzle.”  
  
Jessica groaned. “Really? What, do we have to play chess now?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
The cowgirl rolled her eyes. “...fine. What do we have to do?”  
  
Billy walked around the desk. “We need to move White into checkmate.”  
  
Jessica stared at the outnumbered black army. “...I don’t think that’s possible.”  
  
“No, I mean, we have to make it so that White wins.”  
  
“Ooooooh, well that’ll be easy.” She moved over to the white king and started to shove it. “...it’d be...easier...if it wasn’t so....frickin’ heavy,” She grunted as she strained against the statue. “Yo...muscle boy...little help?”

Billy quirked an eyebrow at the new nickname but lent his considerable strength to the task. Once the board was properly set, a wooden tick preceded before the smaller chess board opened.  
  
“A’ight! What goodies do we get?” Jessica queried.  
  
Billy pulled out a book, titled ‘Book of Evil’. The marine frowned. _The weight isn’t uniformed._ He opened it and found a single, small, demonic wing.  
  
“Oh, come on! That’s for that stupid picture puzzle in the main hall,” Jessica groused. She peered at the book’s hiding spot and saw another smaller one hiding deeper in the desk. She pulled out and opened the first page. “....oh, this is somethin’.”  
  
Billy looked over her should to see what it was. “What did you find?”  
  
“Journal.” She flipped a page. “It’s Marcus’.”  
  
Billy could see a mental image of the painting flash in his mind. _The director of the facility himself._ “What does it say?”  
  
As it turned out, it said a lot. Within the pages, they discovered a story of how Marcus found a new virus, called Progenitor, how his compatriot, Spencer began Umbrella and asked Marcus to become the director of the training facility. The scientist relented only for the sake of improving his research. Then the story took a darker turn as Marcus schemed against Spencer, how he invented the new T-virus, and how he moved from rodents to humans for experimentation.  
  
The cowgirl succinctly made his review in one word: “Sick.”

"He's a monster for doing that to his own people," Billy growled. When Jessica glimpsed up at him, she saw a rare, furious look on his features.

"I'm sure the others would be interested in this book," Jessica said before she stuffed it into her cramped pockets. "And we're done here."

Billy took one last look around the room. "I wonder what went wrong. Marcus makes the zombie virus and is about to present it to the board to get his share."

"Come on, it's obvious," Jessica chided. "I've seen this movie before. Either Spencer managed to trigger an outbreak or someone royally screwed up. Either way, we need to get moving. I want to shoot something."

For once, Billy agreed with that sentiment.


	13. Creepy Church or Not?

Jessica & Billy

Of all things, for them to find the infirmary while Becky was away, was just too ironic. But the two zombies here, a former doctor and patient, provided some distraction. Or, they would have had Billy let her have some of the action. Instead he rushed forward the moment he spotted them. Jessica was about to yell at him for taking more of her kills when she saw his execution.

The marine punched the first one so hard that it twirled around. Billy didn't give it a moment to recover as he grabbed its head and, with a sharp jerk, broke its neck. As it fell, the second one tried to lunge at him. He jabbed its knife into its eye, twisted the knife, and kicked the dead zombie off his blade.

"...woah," Jessica muttered quietly to herself. "Marcus got ya really riled up, didn' he?"

Billy sheathed his knife. "He's a monster," He stated simply.

Jessica nodded before she noticed the first zombie wasn't dead. It's head was at a weird angle but it stared at her hungrily, mouth opening and closing as if it could taste her already. "Ya really do need to shoot these things in the head to kill 'em." She lazily fired a round into its noggin. With the room cleared, she switched to raider mode.

Beds lined along the far wall with medicine in between half of them. To their right were a couple of sinks for hygienic purposes. Several shelves lined the wall on their left. And a green canister occupied the wall opposite to the sinks. She mosied over to the canister, since it piqued her interest. A small valve was at the top. One she was just about to turn when Billy said, "I wouldn't. That looks chemical. You don't know what it might do to you."

She frowned as her curious re-doubled its efforts to go against the convict's advice. In the end, she stepped away with a sigh. "Shucks, Billy. Ya do have a heart."

Billy brushed if off with a shrug as he went through the cabinets. "There's no point in getting yourself killed when there's plenty of monsters that can do it for you."

Jessica walked over to him with a grin. "Aw, how cute. You're tryin' to act all 'tough-guy'. I bet'cha ya just a big ol' softie inside that gruff exterior."

He took a moment to glare at her over his shoulder. "You seem to have forgotten that I'm a mass murderer."

"Ya know what? I ain't buyin' it," She challenged him as she tipped her cowboy hat up. "I think ya were framed for somethin' ya didn' do. Am I wrong?" He ignored her as he pulled out several first aid sprays out of the cabinet. "I'll take that as a yes."

"There's no point in bringing up the past now," He countered as he closed the cabinet. In front of him was a small army of gauze bandages, pain killers, first aid kits and sprays, and other miscellaneous medical supplies.

Before Jessica could continue the conversation, Billy's radio squawked. "Billy, this is Rebecca, over."

He detached the handheld radio from his hip. "Billy here, over."

"We've found a new route that leads from the facility to a nearby church. Daniel and I are investigating. Over."

"Roger, we've finished our investigation. We'll rejoin you ASAP. Where's the path? Over."

There was a pause before Rebecca answered. "Access is now at the second floor balcony outside of the conference room, over."

Billy quirked an eyebrow at that. _I already checked that. All there was the ladder down into the first floor._ Despite his hesitation, he answered. "On our way, Billy out."

"Awww, how come they get to find the next spooky area first?" Jessica complained as she started for the exit. "I mean, a church? Next to an evil facility? Almost sounds like a ghost story just waiting happen."

Billy shot her an annoyed look. "Don't forget to bring the medical supplies."

She stopped and looked at him over her shoulder. "How? My pockets are all full as it is." She pointed at all of her pockets, jean pants and blue hoodie. Billy frowned and admitted she was right. He too couldn't fit any more stuff on him. He wished he had more than just his blue jeans. "Let's just warn Becky that the room is here and if we get banged up, we can come back here where she can patch us. Right?"

 _Well, she isn't completely stupid, even if she is taking this all too casually. Point for her._ "Yeah, let's go."

"A'ight! I wonder if we're gonna run into anythin' new over there," Jessica hoped for as they moved to catch up with the other pair. "And remember, if we runnin' into any ghosts, who you gonna call?" She asked throwing her hand toward him in a 'say-it!' gesture.

He stared at the hand for a moment before sighing. "Ghostbusters."

Rebecca & Daniel

Rebecca re-hooked the radio onto her belt as they crossed over the narrow bridge to the church. Personally, she didn't like the fact that she was surrounded by water deeper than she could see. Didn't monsters like to jump out of this kind of water? _Oh no,_ Rebecca fretted. _I'm thinking like Jessica now._ But, she wondered how worried she should be. Daniel didn't appear to be bothered by the water at all. He kept his eyes locked on the old church with a solemn expression. _Are we going to run into something there?_

The narrow, stone bridge, illuminated by a single working lamp, cut across the shadow-ridden lake to reach a decrepit, moss-covered chapel. The two dark, stained-glass windows reminded Rebecca of lifeless eyes that seem to stare right at her. Next to the chapel was a small watchtower in the same condition. Despite how uninviting they were, there were two bright lights, one in the tower, and one above the chapel's entrance. A walkway continued around the side of the chapel into darkness.

"Cheerful," Daniel quipped as they neared it. He experimentally tried the doors. "Aaannnddd locked."

"But you already knew that, didn't you," Rebecca whispered to herself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." She looked over at the tower but quickly realized how small it was. It consisted of only tall room that she could see into from by the church doors. "That's a dead end." She looked down the left sidewalk. She walked that way with Daniel trailing behind her.

 _It's going to happen again, isn't it? She's going to find some way to dodge half the traps,_ He suspected as they walked beneath the sidewalk's canopy. Two more victims of Umbrella's doomed investigation unit shuffled around aimlessly. For the price of two bullets, they were able to scavenge several magazines of machine gun and handgun ammo. Daniel was very happy that he was in his ACU's. All the extra pockets were very useful lately, even if he did feel like a walking armory.

After turning around the next corner, they came up to an elevator built into the side of the church on their right. Directly ahead was a fancy, black iron fence surrounding the chapel's backyard with a gate next to the elevator.

"Elevator is out of power," Rebecca stated after a quick inspection.

"And the gate is locked," Daniel added after checking it. He looked at the rest of the fence. Each post of the fence was topped off with a pointy arrow. But when he looked at Rebecca, he saw that she was thinking the same thing: why not just go over it? He flexed his bitten arm and wondered if he was up to it.

"I won't need much," Rebecca answered as she walked over to the fence, paying his bandaged forearm a quick glance. She grabbed part of the fence and pulled herself off the ground. Daniel quickly grabbed one of her feet and pushed upwards. She managed to get one foot on the high bar and balanced precariously in between points. With a kick, she jumped over to the other side and, though she tumbled a little, landed safely on the other side. First, she walked over to the gate and unlocked it, happy that it wasn't a two-way lock. And while Daniel added his eyes to the search, she found all there was to find in the next minute. On the back wall of the church was an old circuit breaker. While foliage and plants overran the rest of the backyard, it was still untouched. And when she pulled the lever up, they both heard a light flicker on above the elevator door. "Finally. Something nice and simple for a change."

 _Of course, we did just ignore a hook shot spot, the church's front door trick lock, and the giant zombie bat boss._ Daniel thought to himself as they walked toward the working elevator. Rebecca had just pushed the button when Jessica's voice rang out, "A'ight, where's them varmints? How come I don' see any bodies over here?"

Both uniformed teenagers looked toward their cowboy boot-wearing compatriot as she waltzed into view with Billy trailing behind her. "There weren't any," Rebecca answered happily.

Jessica balked. "Nothin'? That can't be right."

"Nothing," Daniel repeated for her, though his eyes momentarily shot toward the chapel.

It wasn't fast enough to escape Jessica's notice. "And both of y'all checked inside too?"

"The front door is locked, and we haven't found a key yet," Rebecca said. The elevator's door opened and she put one foot inside to keep it open. "There's no way out through the backyard, it just leads back into the lake. We're essentially on an island cut off from the forest now. Which means, the only possible exit might be down here."

Jessica frowned as she grasped the heart of Rebecca's message. "Sooo, you're tellin' me to skip it? But what if there are more monsters inside?"

"With our luck, there'll be plenty of monsters down here," Daniel commented as he stepped into the elevator. Billy uttered an unspoken agreement with the soldier as he stepped inside.

Jessica glared at all three of them before she sighed and stepped followed them in. Rebecca, with a hidden smile, was the last one in. The elevator was very luxurious with a tiled floor and intricate metal carvings. Yet, there was only one other floor. Daniel pressed it after Rebecca stepped in and they all heard the gears whirring.

The elevator just started downward when Jessica began humming something that sounded suspiciously like elevator music. The other three occupants slowly turned toward her with mixed looks of disbelief and annoyance. In return, she flashed them all a 'screw-you-all' grin and went back to humming. Rebecca rolled her eyes, Daniel sighed before he faced the door, and Billy went back to ignoring her.

Candlelight greeted them as the elevator doors opened. Stone walls flanked by Greek columns lined the way. At the end of the hallway a small balcony overlooked the hallway. Two doorways sat on the left wall. The first one didn't have its door any more but was caved in, rendering it useless anyway. The second door was unlocked. "Well, ain't that just nice for a change," Jessica crowed as the four of them stepped in.

It was another library. It was bigger than the last one, but with fewer books and a fancy tiled floor. Old-fashioned portraits dotted the walls between the expensive, wooden book-cases. In one corner of the room was another dumbwaiter. On one of the few nightstands was a torn page. Daniel read it aloud after he picked it up. "Trouble is unlikely, but I closed my babies up in the special capsule. But it won't be safe if I hold it onto myself. I'll hide it in that place. 'To hide a leaf, put it in a forest'... To open the capsule, the special stripping agent is necessary. No way Spencer's lackeys could figure how to make it."

"~I sense a puzzle~," Jessica declared, dragging out the statement in an annoyed, sing-song fashion.

"That reminds me," Billy followed up as he looked at Daniel and Rebecca. "We found Marcus' diary. He’s the creator of the T-virus. The one responsible for this mess, and we located an infirmary inside the main facility."

"The T-virus," Rebecca softly repeated to herself. She couldn't help but notice that Daniel didn't react to the news as if it were...well, new. She felt a slew of questions assaulting her. She decided to focus on the most pertinent one that she believed could be answered honestly. "Is there a cure?"

Billy frowned and shook his head. "It doesn't look like it. He was about to present his research at the next meeting on the last date."

"Sucks to be you," Jessica muttered to Daniel.

He glared at her for a moment before he paced across the room. He looked down one of the wings and toward the ceiling, which was afflicted with a large hole. He felt a powerful urge to massage the bandage over his arm. _Don't think about it. Who knows? Maybe the Eliminators can't infect people. Stop it. Don't think about it. Focus. How can we get past that without the hookshot? A human ladder perhaps? Maybe using one of the tables?_ The height didn't bother him. It was the leech zombie waiting upstairs for them. How was he supposed to ask for more incendiary ammo without looking incredibly suspicious...again?

"Well, he might have developed a cure before the meeting," Rebecca hoped for. "There's no point in creating a viral weapon without making a vaccine as well. Otherwise, you have no way to control it."

Jessica scanned their surroundings. "....like maybe being unable to stop an outbreak or somethin'?" She posed with heaps of dry sarcasm.

The medic winced at the barb. "We're talking about a man who fed his own employees to fuel his research," Billy interjected. "He might have made a vaccine and kept it to himself."

Rebecca shot him a 'thank-you' smile. But Jessica just shrugged. "Well, until we find this cure, I suggest you don' git bit. Sorry Sims."

"I'll be fine," Daniel replied absent-mindedly as he rejoined the others. "The only way to go now is to go up." He ignored the worried look on Rebecca's face. To his surprise, even Billy had a touch of concern on his. "If we're lucky, we can find a way out up there."

"None of us seem to have any good luck lately," Billy mumbled before he walked underneath the hole. "Grab that table right there." He pointed at the room's largest table, which Rebecca and Jessica moved over. He judged the distance between the two points and looked over the others. "Only two of us can go up. Army, how well can you use your arm now?"

Daniel clenched and un-clenched his left fist, feeling the arm muscles contract and relax. Each time, he nearly winced. "It's getting better," He offered optimistically.

"Let's not take any chances," Billy replied as he looked at the two ladies. "I'm the strongest and biggest, so I'll stay down here with Jessica. We'll push Rebecca and Army up." He stared at the cowgirl. "No horseplay."

She held up a hand. "I swear I won' do anythin'... this time."

That hardly reassured the medic, but she wasn't willing to argue with her over it. Better yet, if she did do what she was supposed to, she would be free of the annoying teenager for that much longer. Much like before, Billy and Jessica formed steps with their hands. Unlike last time, Rebecca, as wobbly as her balance was, was lifted to the second floor without incident. The moment she was up, she shifted around onto her stomach and prepared to help her wounded comrade up.

"Billy," Daniel nonchalantly interjected before he stepped up. "Got any spare grenades? You know, just in case?"

The ex-marine quirked an eyebrow in a gesture that made it all too clear that he suspected more than the soldier was letting on. "Here." He handed one of each type of grenade to Daniel. "Be careful with those."

"Always." With that, Daniel hopped onto the table...and regretted it for a moment as it dangerously wobbled.

"Easy there, tiger," Jessica chastised him with an amused shake of her head.

"Just eager to get out of here," He mumbled before he hoisted himself onto their footholds. He reached out with his good arm and Rebecca grabbed onto it. The three of them working in tandem easily got him onto the third floor.

"Well, great....now what do we do?" Jessica asked Billy after the other two walked out of sight. He shrugged.

As Rebecca walked away from the hole, she got her first look of the room. The hole happened to be in the corner of a dark laboratory, lit by the glow of a light and something else around the corner. The room was divided in half by a large shelf in the center that extended three-quarters the way between the walls. On it were a bunch of dirty, musty jars containing... somethings. The labels were covered with so much dirt it was impossible to read them and the jars themselves were so brown that in the dark room, they couldn't see them. At least whatever inside of them didn't move. Right next to her was a series of desks lined up against the shelves.

Daniel couldn't hear anything in the room besides the two of them. That didn't mean that the leech zombie wasn't there. He kept his M16 slung as he grabbed the incendiary grenade Billy gave him. Any thought of maintaining his little ruse was pushed away by images of Shantia dying at the hands of the monstrous slugs. _I'm not taking any chances with those things._ He tried to be quiet as he pulled the firing pin and kept his thumb on the safety lever.

Rebecca paused and looked back at him before she rounded the corner to the rest of the room. "What is it?" She whispered.

"Do you smell that?" He muttered back as he slowly walked in front of her. He slowly leaned his head past the shelf and saw his target. The green humanoid stood in between the shelf and a series of three, human-sized containment tanks. They were as squalid and murky as the jars. Behind the leech zombie was a fridge of sorts and was providing the other glowing light in the room.

The monster hadn't noticed him yet. So, he calmly knelt down and 'bowled' the grenade to the leech creation. He quickly back stepped, pushing Rebecca with him as the leech zombie reacted to the item. With wet-sloppery steps, it moved at a glacial pace forward. Which worked perfectly for Daniel's plan. An explosive fire consumed the leech zombie and caused several of the nearby jars and tanks to crack. They waited a moment for the fires to die down before rounding the corner again.

"Oi! What the hell is goin' on up there!" Jessica yelled from the lower floor.

"Just took out another leech zombie, everything's fine," Daniel shot back. He looked away from the hole... and saw Rebecca staring at him. "...what?"

"...you can't smell." She mumbled underneath her breath.

"What was that?"

"I said," She repeated forcefully, loud enough for him to hear. "You. Can't. Smell."

The bespectacled soldier twitched. "Well...it's not completely dead. I can smell a little."

"Then how come I didn't smell it," She countered, tossing a glimpse at the burnt remains. "Why did you 'smell' it before I did?"

 _Think of something....must think of something..._ No matter how hard Daniel thought, no easy lie or reason came to him. Even though he realizing how pathetic it was, he shrugged. "I don't know."

 _He's not even trying now. Or maybe he's just scared of those things. I know I am. But, what do I do now? Do I press him or should I leave him alone?_ Rebecca really, **really** wanted to press him, time paradoxes or not.

The tense silence stood between them for a minute. Then two. Abruptly, Daniel looked away as he walked toward the room's door. "We're wasting time."

She stared at him for another second before she relented. _I'll let him go...for now._

You are entering an insane world…


	14. So Close Yet So Far

Daniel & Rebecca

After avoiding the narrow confrontation with Rebecca, Daniel decided it prudent to avoid the room's hidden item, for now. He did feel free to point out the file at the broken computer station: a page from the Laboratory Manager's diary describing the platform code. Rebecca frowned while she folded the page. "This is the second time Marcus has referred to 'babies'." Her wary eyes settled on Daniel. "You think he's referring to his leeches?"

"It's likely," Daniel agreed without hesitation. _Don't have to worry about saying anything too incriminating here_. "We know that the leech zombies like to pretend to be him, and they are the primary component of his research. Maybe he became obsessed with them too."

Rebecca rolled her tongue inside her mouth, while her eyes squinted. If Daniel didn't know any better, he'd thought she just bit into something extremely sour. "I'm glad we won't have ever have to meet him," She declared emphatically before she marched towards the only door.

 _About that...._ Daniel let the thought trail off before he followed. She'd learn soon enough. The paper map hanging next to the door brought a smile to her face as she grabbed it. She intensely pored over it while radioing her find to Billy. "It's weird though. The downstairs hallway isn't supposed to end that soon, over."

"What do you mean, Rebecca?" Billy checked.

"I mean there isn't supposed to be a wall there. It's supposed to go past there and turn to the right for a bit then turn back left," Rebecca explained while she puzzled over it. "It doesn't make sense. No one has worked on this place in the last decade or two. It's not like walls can just drop from the ceiling."

"Maybe they can."

Rebecca shot the soldier a frown as he stood in the open doorway. "You're not helping, Daniel."

Daniel's lips were already open with the waiting explanation about to charge forth from the back of his throat when his name brought a pause. He couldn't remember the last time she actually called him that to him even though he'd given her permission all the way back at the train. _Focus_. "Look out here."

Still not convinced ceilings could drop walls, Rebecca sighed before walking out of the room. To her surprise, she walked onto the overview spot with railing that she saw earlier when the four of them first walked in. But Daniel's pointing finger directed her gaze to a red button on the right wall. Daniel allowed her a moment to absorb the information before he pressed the red button.

The medic violently twitched, looking all around her before she realized a stone wall was elevating and covering the view down into the lower hallway. She sheepishly avoided Daniel's gaze, undoubtedly wondering about the twitch. _Hey, bad things follow red buttons!_ She wanted to yell, defending herself. But that simply sounded too much like what would Jessica say...even if it might be true. Moment before the wall section completed its move, both of them heard a 'squish-slrrrplop' noise. "Another one?" She whispered fearfully.

"Warn Billy." Daniel calmly dictated.

Billy & Jessica

"I'm booorrrreeeeddd," Jessica reiterated as she swung her legs beneath the table she sat on. "Tell me how ya got framed for the murder spree."

Rebecca's voice crackled into the air, sparing Billy from his comrade's insistent questioning. "Billy, we've opened the rest of the hallway to you two, but there's a leech zombie in the way. Use incendiary grenades, over!"

"Message received, Billy out." With an air of casual indifference, the convict popped off the last red grenade off a belt loop.

Jessica sighed. "And, I still don't git to fight anythin'. At least I finally git to see what one of these things look like." She casted a sideways glance at him as they walked to the exit. "Nervous? I mean, thanks to leech zombies, we lost Shantia and Eddy. Pretty impressive score when ya figure in that none of the other monsters have killed anyone."

"What about the third soldier?" Billy pointed out as he jerked the firing pin off.

"Ah, right, Bart," she blithely remembered. "Okay, so the score is Leech Zombies: 2. Zombie dogs: 1. Everything else: 0."

Billy shot her an annoyed frown before he took his spot behind her. "Do you actually care if any of your friends die? And I want you to throw the door open and stay here while I take it out."

She put her hand on the doorknob, her muscles pulled taut. "Frankly-speakin', I'm only good friends with Sims. The rest of them are his friends. That said, when they die, that makes Sims sad. And boy's got enough troubles on his plate as is. Ready?"

Billy wasn't sure about that last part. Part of him felt repulsed by her value on the other kids. Even if she wasn't close to them, they were still kids like her. On the other hand, he knew she wouldn't start cracking if any more of them died. He decided to give her a neutral score for it. He nodded.

Jessica yanked the knob hard and allowed her body to travel with the door as they swung inward. Billy leaned out and his eyes bugged open when he saw the green man at the corner of the hallway. He remembered Rebecca's descriptions, but he now knew his own mental images were woefully inadequate. Standing underneath a light's umbrella, it's 'skin' glistened as though even its clothes were sweating. It noticed him and took a shaky step forward. Considering the door was literally only a foot away from him, one step forward placed it far too close for his comfort.

"Now **that's** disgustin'," Jessica analyzed after poking her head through the doorway.

"Back in!" He yelled as his thumbed flipped off the grenade's safety lever. He cocked his arm back. _One mississippi, two missi-_ . The thing mirrored his arm. But instead of throwing something, its arm shot forward...three feet forward as it inhumanly stretched. "Woah!" Billy shouted as he stumbled back into the room, his arm reflexively throwing the grenade.

"That's different," Jessica mumbled as she watched the green arm retract.

"Shut the door!" Billy shouted before he flung it shut. He hoped the leech zombie was as slow as the regular ones. One second after the door slammed back into the doorway, a fire-laced explosion thundered in the hallway, mixed with a high-pitch shriek.

"Sounds like a fricken' banshee," The cowgirl observed. She gave it a moment before she cautiously opened the door. As she looked over the new scene of carnage, she silently thanked the architect, whoever he was, for making sure this hallway comprised of stone. Collateral damage limited itself to the Persian rug in the new section of the hallway along with a couple of paintings. "Hope they weren't priceless." Billy stepped out after her and noted the big pile of goo where he saw the leech zombie last.

"Everything okay down there?"

Billy looked up toward where the second floor view was. "Leech zombie is neutralized. But we're stuck here until the fires burn out."

Jessica groaned. "That's goin' to take forever! I'm goin' inside to grab one of the rugs and smother them out."

"You do that," Billy agreed as he stepped back inside away from the small patches of fire.

Daniel and Rebecca

"Well, they're okay," Rebecca said softly as she stepped away from the wall.

"That's good, we've lost enough people already," Daniel chimed in, his voice somewhere between relief and hurt before he returned to exploring the rest of the upstairs hallway.

The medic looked over at him and silently nodded. _He's lost friends helping us, hasn't he? But it's strange. Why bring any of his friends to help out if he knew that they could die? Did he bring them on purpose or were they an accident?_ So many questions, and not enough answers.

Almost as if to further antagonize her, the first door they checked, which was at the opposite corner of their door, was locked. _Can't anything just go completely our way for more than five minutes?_ She grumbled to herself as they traveled down the hallway and tried the next door. When Daniel opened it, Rebecca felt a small boost. When they stepped inside, her spirit threatened to soar. She took another step in, her boot echoing off the steel floor. "Is....is that what I think it is?"

Daniel nodded, looking slightly better too. "Yes, yes it is."

They walked onto a metal platform that carried a large control room over the lower floor. Lights glowed indicating that the place still had power. The platform covered a third of the room, giving them an easy overview of the rest of the place. But what grabbed their attention was on the lower level. Sitting quietly and sleepily was a curved rectangle of a vehicle attached to a series of metal wires and supports above it. "A cable car," Rebecca said dreamily. "An actual cable car. With this, we can escape!" For the first time since she discovered they were cut off in the training facility, the STARS member felt like they were actually making progress. The fact that it didn't enjoy electricity as the rest of the place did couldn't dampen her hopes.

The smile she now wore was so happy and uplifting that a twang of guilt struck Daniel when he thought about warning her it probably wasn't going to be that easy. ...in fact, he knew it wasn't that simple. _I'll let her have a moment._ He turned his attention on the control room. With a locked door, the game pushed the player into using the hook shot to get in there through a hole in the control room's floor. _Where did we leave that thing?_ After a moment of intense concentration, Daniel realized he didn't remember where the hook shot was. _Screw it._ He flipped the M16 around in his hands and slammed the rifle's butt stock against the glass. The glass cracked but resisted his efforts for a new entrance until a third hit broke through. Daniel gently pulled his rifle back through the new hole trying to make sure he didn't spill any glass shards toward him. Then he gingerly went about widening the hole, chipping away at it and forcing the glass to fall inside. Rebecca joined him, using her submachine gun to work in the opposite direction. The room's only noise was the sharp clinks of falling glass as they worked.

Once the hole was wide enough, Daniel set his rifle to the side before he took off his jacket. After wrapping his right hand in the sturdy fabric, the soldier swept away all the glass within his reach. "Alright, that should be good enough," He declared after he finished.

While he picked out the glass in the jacket, Rebecca carefully slid through the new portal. _Power, power, need to find the power._ Working from left to right, she pored over the numerous knobs, buttons, and dials, meticulously checking each and every single inch. Time-consuming it was, desperate to get it right, she also was. Then, three-quarters the way across, she discovered something that threatened to smash her hopes. Two key electronic pieces' outlines sat empty. Combined this observation with the little knowledge of electronics she acquired over some spare readings, she quickly made a deduction: unless they find the missing pieces, there was no power. No power meant no escape. _!@#$! Can't anything just go perfectly right for once!?_ She felt weak as frustrated tears threatened to tear out of her. Some STARS member she was.

She twitched when Daniel placed a hand on her shoulder. When she twisted her head to look at him, she found a sympathetic expression waiting for her. _He knew. He already knew._ Abruptly, she turned her body toward him and grabbed his hand. "Daniel, please. Just...just this once. Please just tell me how to fix this as quickly as possible. I know you know what we need to get out of here. I swear I won't tell anyone else that you helped, just this one time, don't hold back, please."

All of his previous mental warnings to sticking to the cover story didn't have the same strength anymore. He wasn't sure what tugged at his heart more: those watery eyes filled with trust set in that mask of weariness or the melody of grief and desperation spiked with hope that she spoke with. A hope he could either extinguish or fulfill. "It’s...." _Be vague, be vague, be vague._ "Not that simple. ...even if I....'helped' there are still difficulties that I can't get us around."

Rebecca admitted to herself that wasn't the answer she hoped for. Then again, he didn't outright deny her either. "What kind of difficulties? Are we talking about monsters or more roadblocks?"

Very reluctantly as he frowned, he answered, "Both."

Rebecca's optimism fought against the weights tied around its waist as it tried to climb higher. "But, at least nothing we haven't seen before...right?"

Although he understood it wasn't his fault at all, Daniel found it harder and harder to face her as he could see her hopes waver. "Well...if we keep calm, it's nothing we can't handle," He said upbeatedly. Before she could ask any more questions, he walked back toward the broken window. He didn't want to risk bringing her down and tried a different tactic as he climbed out of the room. "So...what is your favorite genre of movies?"

Rebecca wasn't sure if she was grateful or vexed by the abrupt topic change. Either way, she allowed him to distract her. _He's letting me know about the future. No specifics, but he's not trying to hide it this time._ "Well, I like comedies and Sci-Fi. ...I used to like B-move horror movies about science experiments gone wrong," She quietly added as she climbed out of the control room.

Daniel couldn't fight the smile. "Yeah, I can understand that. I'm sure this gives you a whole new perspective on those movies. As for me, I like most kinds of movies. My Dad is a big movie fan. So, I've seen all kinds. But I really do like sci-fi’s and comedies too. What's your favorite movie?"

"Hmmm. I'm not sure if I have just one favorite film," Rebecca said after they stepped back into the hallway. "What about yours?"

"Evil question," He muttered good-naturedly.

"Evil?"

"I hate questions that try to make me pick one thing out of so many good choices," He elaborated as he led the way back to the lab room. "Let's see.....how about you just give me a genre to work with?"

"Okay," She easily acceded. "Sci-Fi."

Daniel pondered the question. _Let's see, let's see, let's see. Sci-Fi....oh crap. I probably should give out a 90s movie instead of a 00's movie. Does it really matter? We're not exactly hiding the truth, now are we? But we can't just outright blurt things from the future. Think about the timeline! Well, we're already screwing that up by being here right? Unless this is a different Resident Evil universe in which we were supposed to come here and make it different. Then it would be a stable temporal loop. But what if it isn't? What if it's like that one Star Trek episode where the other temporal law is in effect? ARGH! I hate time travel!_

His silence provoked her to sneak up and glance at him. The little show waiting for her caught her off-guard. She didn't know if she simply didn't notice it before if it was just how he reacted to 'evil questions', but as she watched him, his face went through several exaggerated expressions. First, he frowned and he clutched his chin in annoyance. But abruptly the expression went away and now his face was calm, glancing upwards in detached curiosity that had nothing to do with the ceiling. If he had a pipe in his mouth, she could easily imagine him as some old, Oxford professor deliberating on the latest intellectual quandary. Then it vanished as he looked to the left, as though he were glaring at someone else. A giggle brought him out of his inner turmoil. As tired as she was, Rebecca sported a small smile now, aimed at him. "Did you know that you make funny faces when you don't think anyone is watching?”

"I....can't say I'm surprised," He admitted embarrassingly, trying to smile it off. Inside, he felt his spirit falling down another step. _Goofy faces...I would make those to make my sisters laugh._ Daniel thought finishing Basic Training would cure him of homesickness for life. But here it was, attacking him again. _I'll make it home. Someday._ Back in the upper lab room, he headed for the fridge the leech zombie unintentionally guarded. ... _or maybe Marcus sent it here to guard it? To make sure we don't advance any farther?_ Regardless of the why, the leech zombie was nothing more than a pile of goo that Daniel stepped through.

The fridge proved to be no barrier. One press of a button and it opened. As the glass door whirred open, the inside light switched from a bright blue to a darker red. Inside the fridge were a series of capsules containing dead leeches. Except one of them. "It's glowing," Rebecca murmured as she stared at the guilty capsule.

Daniel grabbed the glowing capsule before he looked at her. "We need to open this."

Now closer, Rebecca saw a strange membrane covering the capsule's opening. "How?"

"The hard way." Daniel walked toward the door again but instead of going for the door, the glasses-wearing soldier wedged the capsule in the corner next to it. He fell back two steps before taking aim with his rifle. With two careful bullets, he shattered the plexi-glass before he retrieved the prize. _Better this than walking all the way back to the infirmary for the stupid chemical._

"What is it?" Rebecca asked curiously. The item still looked like a leech and she couldn't derive any other purpose from its form.

"It's a key." Daniel sighed. "A key for one of the downstairs doors."

Before Rebecca replied, her radio chimed. "Yo Becky! We need help down here!"

The medic glared at the radio before she unhooked then handed it to Daniel. "You answer her."

Daniel accepted the radio without complaint. "Sims here."

"She's still avoidin' me, huh? Anyway, we're stuck. The other two doors in the rest of the hallway are locked. One is missin' a dial and the other has this weird box thing on it."

Daniel pressed the button. "I might have found what you're looking for. I'm dropping it through the hole."

"That's what I like about ya, Sims. Ya get things done. Jessica out."

"What about us? What are we doing?" Rebecca inquired, worriedly. She did not want to wait around until Jessica found what they needed.

"The last door in the hallway is unlocked," He explained as he walked to the other end of the lab. "We'll clear out the zombies and be ready for when the others have...found whatever they should find." Daniel peered down the hole before he flipped the blue leech into it, watching as it spun through the air before landing.

Rebecca slowly nodded. "Well, zombies haven't been a problem for us."


	15. The Tram to Freedom?

Billy & Jessica

"Hey Billy, how much do ya think this door costed?" Jessica asked as she stared at their latest barrier. The door in question was a blue-painted metal. A box jutted out of the door from next to the handle. A leech indentation sat on the box's top. Above it was a crest featuring Marcus' head...thing. "Billy what do ya call it when they're only lookin' one way?"

"Profile," Billy helpfully supplied. "Now will you please use the leech key?"

"Got it." Jessica shoved the leech key in place and a encouraging click sounded off. "A'ight, dibs on the monsters. Ya've been takin' all my kills lately, and it's high-time I git to fight somethin'."

Billy swung his arm forward. "Be my guest."

"Good boy," She grinned before she opened the door. She hefted her shotgun and charged in...only to find the room empty. "...damn it."

Billy stepped in behind her and whistled. "Fancy." Judging from the large, mahogany desk, this room had to be someone's office. Several large, oil paintings, a wall-to-wall filled bookcase, and an active aquarium combined their efforts to give the room a classy feel. The books sitting on the desk and the model (at least, Billy hoped it was a model) of the upper half of a human skeleton added 'intellectual' to the room's description.

"Are these dead leeches in here?" Jessica tapped on the aquarium's glass. None of the floating blobs reacted. "Creepy."

Billy walked under the slow-spinning ceiling fan as he investigated the desk. He kept an eye on the door at the back wall near the door. Nothing like an ambush to ruin one's night. But then something else grabbed his eye. Next to the human skeleton display, a coil sat on a small picture. When Jessica and Billy had walked back to the door, Rebecca explained their latest discovery, including the missing electronics. _Could this be one of the pieces?_ For insurance, he took it and paused when he saw something familiar. He snagged the picture and held it near the desk lamp's light. In black and white, the photo showed a smiling college graduate in his robes standing near a crowd of other graduates.

"What'cha got there, Billy?"

The convict pointed at the young man. "Look familiar?"

"Hmmmm," Jessica's gaze bore into the photo but eventually shook her head. "It don't. Why?"

"He's the guy who was standing outside the train. The one surrounded by leeches?" Billy patiently reminded her.

"Wha-?" She jerked her gaze from picture to him, disbelief written all over her face. "You can't be serious."

"It's him no doubt." Billy flipped the photo over. "To James. To commemorate your graduation. 1939."

"Wait, James? 1939 You still sure that guy we saw was him?" Jessica prompted.

"It's still him," Billy countered as he dropped the photo onto the desk. "Probably a relative to Dr. Marcus. A son, or maybe his grandson."

"Wait, where does Marcus come in?"

Billy tapped on the engraved nameplate on the desk. It read: Dr. James Marcus; Director. He shot her a knowing look. "Maybe you should focus less on the monster and more on your surroundings."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Not my fault. Those dead leeches were creepy. And why does the gown-guy have to be a relative of the crazy doc? Hmmm? For all we know, he's some kind of clone."

"A clone?" Now it was Billy's turn to play the skeptic.

"That's right. A clone. It's what all mad scientists like to do."

"They were researching viral weaponry here," Billy pointed out.

"So? Maybe he was doing some research on the side. After all, all of the leech zombies try to look like him. Even Rebecca said the first one looked exactly like him. He probably found something to clone himself," Jessica declared as she piled on the evidence.

"Until I see a cloning machine, I'm not buying it." Billy said before he checked the back door. With one turn of the knob, the door bid him to enter.

"If there is one, it's probably behind six locked doors, all of them needing some kind of special key, combination, or some other weird kind of doohickey to unlock it," Jessica predicted grumbling. "Hey, look, an art room!" She pointed straight at the nearby statue, hoping Billy wouldn't reflexively kill the two resident zombies before she could fire a shot. Half her hope died as he shot the zombie between him and the marble statue. But as the second zombie growled at her, she whirled around and fired point-black with her shotgun. The zombie's head literally exploded, leaving its body to take a few mindless steps forward before her finally dropped to the floor. "Wow, didn't know the shotgun can do that."

"More U.B.C.S soldiers," Billy muttered as he knelt down next to his kill.

"The what soldiers?"

"Umbrella anti-zombie troops," He reiterates plainly. "I guess they were Umbrella's back-up plan in the case of an outbreak."

"Well, they suck," Jessica declared resolutely, as she stared at their uniform callously. "Place is still infested with monsters. Heck, we haven't even seen any dead monster bodies, which means they didn't kill anythin'. Useless."

"Little harsh, aren't you?"

"Hey, I'm just pointing out the facts." She countered before going through their pockets for ammunition. "Hope you found somethin' interestin'. Maybe like a dial? 'Cause, if you don't, we've kinda run out of doors. Workin' doors."

"I think I've found another key." Billy stepped over one of the bodies to get to a marble statue of robed boy staring skyward. In one of his outstretched hands was a green, fake leech. "It's just like the blue one," He said as he grabbed it.

"You mean the crazy old guy bought **two** of those crazy, metal doors? Well, I think we can safely say he was obsessed." Jessica looked around at the various art pieces, her eyes lingering on a taxidermy hawk with wings outstretched, its beak opened as it glowered at anyone who dared to look at it. "Not that any of these provide much argument against that. Especially the hawk. That thing looks freaky."

Billy pressed the radio's button. "Rebecca, we've found a green leech key."

"Roger Billy. Meet us back in your hallway, Rebecca out." Came the excited voice of the team medic.

Jessica stared at the radio. "Did she just say, what I think she just said?"

Billy nodded as he put the radio away. "Looks like they found a way to us."

Daniel & Rebecca

Daniel berated himself for the sixth time. _Idiot, idiot, idiot! How could you forget such a big detail!_ Daniel fully intended to take him and Rebecca through all the hoops to get the dial. Even if that meant fighting the Hunters. But it just wasn't for the dial. He was fully convinced that the output coil was somewhere upstairs. They were just about to enter the undiscovered room when it hit him: the output coil was in the tram room on the first floor. Cursing himself, and hoping they might skip the Hunters entirely, he led Rebecca back in there. The only real barrier between them and the first floor (a barrier much more powerful in a video game than in real life) was the height. But they overcome it by sliding off the platform until they were holding onto it by their hands. Then it was a simple, shorter drop to the floor. No monster was there to challenge them. Which meant it took them less than a minute to find the lever. After Rebecca pulled it down, another thin, rectangle platform slid from over the tram up to the rest of the mezzanine. What it lacked in size made up for it with one key feature: a ladder.

Rebecca nearly squealed for joy when she found the output coil just lying next to the tram. Daniel wasn't sure when was the last time he saw her ran as hard as she did as she went to plug it in. While she took care of that, Daniel waltzed over to the first floor's door. According to the game, the player was supposed to be jump back and forth between Billy and Rebecca to locate the missing dial and send it down the electronic dumbwaiter to open this. The door was never opened from the inside, because it was impossible to jump down from the second floor. With one turn of the knob, Daniel reduced the long side quest to nothing. He slowly opened the door, allowing himself a moment of victory as he looked into the hallway.

The STARS member just rejoined him when Billy contacted her on the radio. After the call was done, Daniel wondered if Rebecca was going to burst from excitement. She would stare at the tram, then down the hallway, back to the tram, then back to the hallway, her foot tapping on the ground impatiently. _Almost like a child waiting for Christmas morning to arrive._

Marcus' door opened and Rebecca nearly shouted, "Hurry up! We're almost there!"

Billy and Jessica looked at her amused. "Well now, looks like Becky finally remembered how to smile." The cowgirl quipped.

Rebecca didn't hear her as she asked Billy. "Where is it?"

Billy pulled out the missing piece before lazily tossing it. "Catch."

Rebecca nabbed it mid-air before she hurried back to the control room. "Let's have a look at our new tram," Jessica announced as she sauntered into the room with Billy and Daniel entering behind her. She whistled once she saw it. "Looks like we're gittin' outta here." She glanced at Daniel. "Sims, should we get the others?"

"Let's make sure we've secured the other side first," Daniel advised as he positioned himself next to the tram door, occasionally staring at the tram's roof.

"Kid, we might've ID'd the strange guy we saw with the leeches before the train started moving," Billy began as he pulled out the photo. "I think this is Marcus' grandson."

The convict wasn't surprised when the soldier only paid a superficial study to it. "He could be," Daniel answered vaguely. "I didn't get much of a look last time. It was raining pretty hard."

Motors hummed to life and lights flickered on as power finally brought the tram to life. Daniel cautiously opened the tram doors with Billy in a support position next to the doorway.

"I still think he's a clone," Jessica threw in. "With all the crazy, sci-fi stuff going on, I think that's the logical answer."

"Try to be realistic," Billy chided as he scanned the interior. The interior of the cable car was very straightforward. Benches lined against the bare, faded blue walls like an old subway car. The controls were up front. And, on one of the benches was a body. For once, there was no danger of reanimation since this human decided to end his struggles with a well-placed bullet to the brain.

"Says the man who fought a giant scorpion!" Jessica countered as she followed them in. "And -hey! Is that another gun in his hand?"

"Yeah." Billy knelt down next to the body and pried the weapon out of the suicide's hands. "It's a magnum," He announced with a hint of surprise. He holstered his weapon before he checked the magnum's magazine. "Full minus one round." The former lieutenant paused when he heard a distinctive click. He looked behind him, right at Daniel. The grunt held his rifle at the low ready as he stared out the tram's open door. Billy shifted and leaned to the right and saw what his ears recognized. The rifle wasn't on 'Safe'. It was on 'Burst'. Past him, outside the tram, Rebecca was climbing down the ladder as quickly as she could. Billy decided to wait and see what would happen.

"So, who gets the magnum," Jessica piped up as she looked at her weaponry. "I've got three as it is." Rebecca hopped the rest of the way onto the floor. "Billy, ya can't fit anything else in your arsenal." Rebecca rounded around the tram's corner. "Sims, ya-"

An animalistic shriek interrupted her as the most disgusting monkey Billy ever saw leaped down in front of the tram's door. Naked, bulging muscle ripped through dirty, ivory fur. Two hungry, dark red eyes sat in a black, contorted face. Rebecca shrieked as she came to a sudden, horrified stop.

It roared at her. Then twitched as three rifle slugs slammed into its side. It screeched as its head jerked to stare at the soldier only two feet away. Rat-tat-tat. Three bullets shot through its head, one for its mouth, one through its nose, and the last traveling through its forehead. It died.

Daniel paused and looked down at the rifle's firing chamber. "Jammed," He muttered unhappily before he went about fixing it.

"A'ight, hero. Now that ya've saved the girl, maybe ya can help me figure out who get's this?" Jessica pushed as she looked between him and Rebecca. "Hey Becky, ya got room for another piece of firepower?"

Rebecca didn't hear her as she stepped lightly by the eliminator corpse. She smiled gratefully at Daniel. "You saved my life...again."

He returned with a tired smile. "Ah, I'm sure you could've handled it. I just had a bit of luck."

 _Some luck,_ Billy thought wryly to himself. _He knew exactly what was going to happen and was ready for it. Maybe Rebecca is...._ He shook his head. The zombies. They made some kind of sense. Umbrella created a new virus that could make them. There was an explanation. The kid. What could possibly explain that scientifically?

"I think you have me confused with someone else," Rebecca replied wearily but still smiling. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Yay, we're all gettin' along so well, now about the gun," Jessica butted in as she stared impatiently at Daniel.

"Your welcome." Daniel finally addressed the cowgirl. "I can't use it. It hurts just to use the M16." He explained as he lightly rubbed his left forearm.

"Congratulations, Becky!" Jessica shouted out in her best impression of a game announcer, complete with a dazzling, forced smile and throwing her outstretched arm to the brunette. "Ya've just won yerself a brand, spankin'-new magnum!" Her other arm snapped forward, holding out the heavy piece of metal to her, handle first.

Rebecca stared at the magnum much like a vegetarian would stare at a piece of meat. "Don't they have a powerful recoil?"

"You can handle it," Billy said as he marched to the tram's controls. Like the rest of the car, the controls were pragmatically simple. A single lever controlled speed was what Billy was looking for. He wrapped his fingers around and softly pushed it forward. The tram buzzed before it left the station with a whirring of gears. Despite its age, the car barely rocked as it sailed through the artificial tunnel. "Just remember to maintain your posture and don't underestimate the kick. If we're lucky," Billy finished with a glance from the corner of his eye at Daniel. "You won't need to use it all."

"We can hope," Daniel seconded before he looked away. Taking a seat opposite to the body, he sighed as he sat on the leather upholstery. His feet ached from use and he stretched his legs out while he propped up his feet onto their heels. 

"Now **that** looks like a good idea," Jessica declared before she grabbed the seat next to Daniel and released an even larger sigh than Daniel's. "Awwww, yeah. That does feel good. Becky, might as well take a seat while our loyal, gold-hearted man takes care of the drivin'."

Rebecca admitted to herself that she had been walking and running around for the last few hours. Now with the fear and adrenaline wearing off, she realized how much complaining her own feet were doing. While she didn't want to sit by herself, Daniel's bench was full. And she refused to sit next to the corpse. She stared at the back half of the tram, her mind conjuring images of monsters launching sneak attacks, aiming for the foolish female to separate herself from the group. _Stop it! What could possibly attack us up here?_ She walked to the back benches. "How deep do you think this place is?"

"Hmmm, I should've taken my chance to spit over the side," Jessica mused as she rested her head against the wall and shut her eyes.

"I didn't get a good look either," Daniel replied as he glanced through a window. "It has to be deep enough to justify a tram instead of building a subway."

Rebecca took solace in the fact that she did not suffer from acrophobia. _It's deep enough where no monster can just jump and claw through the floor,_ she decided before she sat down. Still, even though the others were only a few feet away, relaxation did not dwell in her.

Daniel wondered what the time was. He was tired. But it was still leftover from his early morning rather than time for him to sleep. _Probably won't feel that urge until afternoon. Wish I could nap now. But I don't know how long this trip is. Stupid, vague Capcom._ What Daniel didn't expect was the sweeping sense of nostalgia. He peeked down at the rifle across his lap. _That must be why. The M16. The boring ride. The sleepiness. It's Basic Training all over again._ "No escape," He whispered to himself with a small smile.

"Hey Billy," Jessica called out as she looked toward him. Billy silently frowned and tensed as he waited for the next annoying question. "If this looks like it's gonna be a long trip, just say when and I'll take care of drivin' so ya can git a break." He glanced back at her; his eyes wide and his mouth open a little. "What? I can be nice," The cowgirl countered defensively against his open surprise. She turned to her friend. "Sims, ain't I a nice person?"

In a bare monotone, Daniel told Billy, "She's a very nice person."

She scowled playfully at Daniel's grin and replied, "To heck wit ya, Sims."

"Well, thank for the offer," Billy interjected as he faced forward. "But I think we're nearing our destination anyway. I can see the cave's floor now."

"How well can you see it?" Rebecca inquired, her voice a little shaky.

"I don't see any monsters," Billy confided, shooting her a small smile.

"Not yet, at least," Jessica added as she peered through the front window, staring at the approaching station with disdain. "Looks like rest time is already over." She looked down at her cowboy boots. "I don't wanna git up."

"You don't have to," Daniel quipped as he pushed himself onto his feet. Before he took a step, he felt a hand latch onto his own. He glanced down and quirked an eyebrow at Jessica. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Pull me up."

"Come again?"

"I said," She said louder. "Pull me up. I don't wanna git up. So ya have to pull me," She explained slowly, emphasizing each syllable.

"You're kidding! You're taller and bigger than I am," The soldier pointed out as he tried to tug his hand free without helping her stand. "Standing up isn't that hard," He grunted as he found her grip to be tight.

"But I don't waannnnaaaa," She pouted, her voice turning into a high whine like a child's. Daniel rolled his eyes before bracing his foot against the bench's side and yanking backward. Jessica grinned as she resisted at first, before leaping, releasing all the pent-up energy.

Daniel backpedaled and fell backwards as he slipped free from Jessica's grasp, straight into someone's cold lap. "Gyah!" He yelped as he threw himself off the corpse.

"Jeez Sims," Jessica chuckled. "He's already dead. Not like he's gonna bite you or anythin'."


	16. Why Not Go Up?

Billy, Daniel, Rebecca, & Jessica

"It's quiet," Jessica stated as the four of them left the tram. "Too quiet." The receiving station wasn't much of a station. They walked onto a concrete floor connected to a short, concrete stairway. The place was bare, of both equipment and monsters. With the stairway the only path, the four of them climbed the six steps and were presented with a choice. A door stood to their left, only five steps away, while another door on their right sat above them via a longer set of metal stairs. Then the choice vanished when Jessica checked the left door. "Annnnnnnddd another locked door."

Billy took the lead as they climbed the next stairway. Jessica glared at a bright light situated on the left wall, right at eye level to anyone going up the stairs. "So, Sims, when you puttin' yer sleeve back on?"

The soldier glanced at her. He wore the camouflaged jacket half-way on, with his left and injured arm free of the sleeve. The jacket hung half off of him, with the sleeve swaying with each step he took. He left it off after the eliminator bit him. "I'll wait until my arm stops throbbing."

Jessica looked at the bandaged forearm with a dubious gleam. "Didn' that happen hours ago?"

He frowned at her. "I haven't exactly been resting now have I? Besides. I kinda look like Auron now."

"Who?"

"He's a video game character," Daniel supplied with a small smile. "He's supposed to be this gritty, tough veteran."

"Oh," Jessica nodded understandably. "So, everythin' ya're not?"

"Hey!"

To Billy's relief, the right door opened for them. The four of them filed in with Jessica shoving her way into second place. They moved into what looked like a train yard at first. A set of tracks traveled between the walls on their right to a circular hole in the building. A decaying ceiling covered their portion of the yard but didn't extend to over the hole, allowing the wind to fly around and against them. After being underground for so long, Rebecca was grateful for the fresh air. Piles of boxes and barrels littered the area adding to the sense of upheaval. At the hole's edge was a small, two-man lift. And closer, on the wall of what could be the outside of the control room, was a white door. What wasn't here were enemies.

"What the heck?" Jessica shouted as she scanned the room a second time. "Nothing? Again?"

"You should be grateful," Rebecca chided her as they stepped into the center of the room. "You're getting money out of this anyway," She muttered to herself.

"You don't get it, do you?" Jessica countered as she looked at the medic. "Ya have to think of this like a horror movie. If it's suddenly gettin' easier, that means it's about to git a lot harder. Maybe we're about to git swarmed by a legion of zombies or maybe fight against a super zombie."

"Don't be silly," Rebecca muttered, even as her eyes glanced at the various piles of debris.

"Two routes, split up into two groups of two?" Billy suggested as he looked at Daniel.

The soldier nodded. "Sounds like a good plan. Billy, why don't you come with me down the lift. Rebecca, Jessica, check out the door."

"It better not be locked," Jessica growled as she marched that way while she glared at the door. Rebecca reluctantly walked in her wake.

"Should I take point or you?" Billy pointedly asked his 'comrade'.

His tone and the implications thereof warned Daniel he overstepped his boundaries again. _No way I was going to let that eliminator attack Rebecca though. Just have to deal with this for now._ "I think you should take point." Billy stared at him for another before he hefted his machine gun and advanced on the lift carefully, keeping his eyes on the hole. Realistically, Billy had every right to fear the hole. Who knew what could spring out of there? So, even though Daniel felt silly because he knew nothing would happen, he matched Billy's caution.

It wasn't until after the ex-marine peeked over the edge did he relax and step onto the lift. Thanks to its small size, there was only room for one at a time. _Of course, Rebecca was supposed to be all alone by this point in the game,_ Daniel thought to himself while he waited for Billy to send the lift back. The lift traveled down half a floor onto a metal catwalk that traveled along the wall of the place to another door.

While Billy waited, he peered down the hole for a better look and saw that it went deep into the ground. He barely glimpsed the bottom thanks to the lights lining the way down. What he also didn't see were any other levels for the train, or whatever else used this turntable, could depart from. He heard the lift whirred back down and glanced over his shoulder. He quirked an eyebrow when he saw Daniel staring into the wall as the lift went down. "I doubt a monster is going to jump out of the wall. Unless now we're fighting ghosts."

"I'm fine," Daniel replied bluntly, never averting his gaze.

Daniel's weird behavior puzzled Billy... until the lift stopped and the soldier had to step off. Since the walkway was only one man wide, the ex-marine took a few steps forward to let Daniel on. As he watched, Daniel inched along the wall, doing everything he can to not look at the hole. "...you afraid of heights?"

"And if I am?" Daniel muttered as he continued to walk with his shoulder touching the right wall while his left hand kept a tight grip as it slid across the walkway's railing.

Billy glanced at their metal path. It traveled along the wall for a good fifteen feet before it ended at a metal door. _This is going to take awhile._ "So, what's your unit?"

"287th Transportation Company," Daniel rattled off rapid-fire as he kept his eyes locked on the wall.

 _Sounds legitimate,_ Billy admitted reluctantly as he measured Daniel's tone. _Or he's a military buff._ "So, you're a truck driver," He poked.

"Transportation specialist," Daniel corrected as he shuffled past the halfway point.

Billy spared him from his interrogation for a moment as he checked the rust-ridden door. It was unlocked which was an excellent start as he slid it to the side. He peered in and saw only more decrepit industrialism, old turbines which hadn't seen life in years, leaking metal pipes, and a tired electrical hum filling the air. Nothing groaned, slithered, or moved as Billy took a few slow steps in. Behind him, Daniel leaped through the doorway before slamming the door shut. His tense shoulders relaxed as he heaved a sigh of relief. Billy did another scan wondering if anything would react to the soldier's noisy entrance. Nothing happened.

"What brings you all of the way out here in the mountains?" Billy asked as he marched forward.

"Poor navigation," Daniel answered as he followed him. "We tried to take a shortcut and got lost. Had to abandon our cars when they ran out of gas and then we got attacked by z-dogs and we've been hoofing it ever since."

They rounded around one of the turbines and found a security station. Most of the screens were off, with the exception of the last screen. The weak light the screen gave off was enough for Daniel to spot the missing key. While he moved to retrieve it, Billy peered at the camera. "...what the hell is that?" The image contained a humanoid creature being held in a large bio-capsule like the ones Daniel ran into back in the laboratory. What separated it from humans was its bleached white skin, an external, beating heart and a massive, distorted claw for a right hand. Billy came to two conclusions. _One, that thing is ugly like hell. Two, that claw could tear me apart._ He stared at Daniel. "Well?"

Daniel's gaze locked onto the screen, his heart skipping a beat. _We're going to have to fight that thing._ Suddenly, the phrase 'boss fights' held a new and terrible power that did not sit kindly with him. He finally met Billy's glare and wondered how much he should tell. "...looks like an experiment."

"...that it?" Billy pressed sourly.

"What do you want me to tell you?"

Billy opened his mouth....and realized he wasn't sure. _I...don't like this time travel business. The sheer power required...it's just not possible. It **shouldn't** be possible. ...but how do I explain how this kid knows what he knows? _"....what are you?"

Daniel waited a beat. "Southern Baptist."

Billy scowled at him. _Smartass._ The fugitive opened his mouth as he heard another hiss come from the door's direction. When the soldier's eyes widened, Billy caught onto it as he mentally replayed the hiss. A machine didn't make it. A creature did. Billy hefted his machine gun as he and Daniel edged back toward the turbine's corner. Billy glanced around the corner, and saw a sight most unwelcome.

Lizardman. The name evoked images of poorly-costumed villains that either stalked characters through horror movies, munching on their victims or strange, evil alien creatures that continually fought against humanity whether in squad-scaled battles or in lone duels with certain, yellow-shirted captains of the Federation.

The lizardman standing at the other corner was none of those things. Its green scales rippled in the light as it breathed in and out. The muscles bulging beneath the very same scales removed any doubt in Billy's mind that this beast could sprint at them, destroying the concept of 'safe distance' in quick order, while its claws attached to its powerful arms were ready to slice through skin and bone. If the claws weren't enough, then the mouth full of fangs, fully in sight as the creature snarled, would be the finishing touch. This creature was a predator. And Billy knew he was the prey.

As silently as he could, his hands drooped until the machine gun hanged off of him only by its sling. Then he grabbed the grenade launcher. Daniel took a quiet step back, the lizardman being completely ignorant of their actions. Billy took a deep breath... before jumping out of cover and pulled the trigger. The lizardman leaned forward as it threw another reptilian hiss at him, its legs tensing as it prepared to charge. The grenade hit. The lizardman exploded into pieces as the main body flew over the railing behind it. Billy stared at the spot for another moment, waiting for a possible counter.

The second lizardman didn't disappoint as it slid, **slid** into view. Billy's finger reflexively squeezed the trigger, the recoil punching into the startled Billy. Even as the metal hit his stomach, the grenade flew towards its target, catching the second lizardman right in the mouth. The force of the explosion flipped the lizardman's body around in the air before it collapsed to the floor. Billy waited another moment...then a second one just in case....then waited for a third one to pass for safety's sake. Only then did he relax.

Daniel peeped around the turbine and winced as he saw the remaining gore on the floor. _Don't look, don't look, and breath through your mouth._ "Let's go before any more of those things show up."

Billy's head jerked toward him in open fear. "More are on the way?"

 _Whoops! Shouldn't have said that...especially since there aren't any more coming. But I can't admit that, now can I?_ Daniel avoided Billy's look. "Let's just go." The two of them moved at quick-time, eager to leave the room behind, even as Daniel dreaded stepping onto that walkway again.

Jessica and Rebecca

"Why. Is. There. Nothing. To. Do. Here!?" Jessica yelled in frustration as she completed her third search of the control room. The monitors and computers in the room's center wouldn't turn on. The hard hats on the wall contained no keys, documents, or other secrets. The room's trapdoor refused to open and considering the metal plating it used, Jessica doubted she could simply shoot it open. The only good thing they found so far was the map on the wall. _Well, if you could it a map,_ she mentally growled as she stared at the piece of paper that Rebecca pored over. The map showed only three levels, first floor, basement level one, and basement level four. "What the heck happened to levels two and three?"

"If you study it for a moment," Rebecca began as her finger pointed at basement one. "It's only showing what's accessible on foot."

"But look at this thing!" Jessica slapped the map's center. "Only three floors and it barely shows four rooms! Who's stupid enough to get lost in here?"

Rebecca shrugged. "Maybe they were being cautious?"

"Bunch of effing morons." Jessica stepped away from the useless piece of paper as she stomped toward the door. "Well, I've had it with this room. Nothin' to do here except stare at walls. Maybe the guys found a way out."

The door knob twisted before her hand grabbed it. She placed her hands on her hips as Billy and Daniel walked in. "Please tell me you found somethin'!"

Daniel brandished the key found down the lift. "Know where we can use this?"

"YES!" Jessica snatched it and ran over to the corner console. After three inspections, she knew exactly what to do with it. Unlike the consoles in the room's center, this corner one had a strange spot for a keyhole sitting on the corner. She jammed the key in and twisted it so hard it nearly broke. With an electronic whirl, the screen turned on.

"How did you even know that would be the right key?" Rebecca asked pointedly, glancing at both Jessica and Daniel.

Jessica rolled her eyes beneath her cowgirl hat. "Well, duh! What else could the key be for?"

"It could've been for that locked door next to the tram," The medic suggested crossly.

"Haven't you been paying attention?" Jessica shot back. "Most of the keys we've found happen to go to the nearest locked things anyway. And this was closer than that door."

While the two gals argued, Daniel read the screen's message.

-Call turntable to current floor?

-Yes

-No

Daniel clicked 'yes'. "Everybody head outside. We're headed down."

"Going down in a horror movie setting. That's bad juju," Jessica answered with a grin, momentarily ignoring her tiff with Rebecca.

"I need to tell you two about the new monster," Billy interceded as the four of them stepped out of the room.

"A new monster?" Jessica pressed, her grin growing wider while Rebecca's frown matched its size.

"It's a bipedal reptile," Billy began, raising his voice. A metallic horn sounded off as yellow lights spun around. "Very fast and dangerous. It has two claws and fangs. Stands at about four feet, recommend you don't hold back."

"Can't wait until I find one," Jessica declared as she patted his shotgun. Rebecca shivered and took an involuntary step closer to Daniel. The turntable arrived, ready to hold people and train engines as denoted by the two large rails in the middle. Daniel casted a last look at the sky before stepping onto the turntable. He walked over to the console next to the center rails.

Billy stared at the rest of the place grumpily. "I don't see how going down is going to help us get out of here."

"According to the map we found, there's an elevator system connecting all of these floors," Rebecca explained as she mentally pictured the layout. "We can't get to the elevator from our level because the door is locked. But if we're lucky, we can take this to the lower level and access the elevator from there."

"So the saying, 'to go up you must first go down' is true?" Jessica piped in as she leaned against the metal rails.

"I don't think that's how the saying goes," Billy dryly remarked.

Daniel pressed the button and felt a moment of vertigo as they descended. _How much further to go? Next up is the tyrant boss, then the treatment facility, then Marcus, then leech queen, then escape...for a time at least. ...how late is it?_ He glanced at his watch: 1:47 am. _Wow. We're making good time...too good. Is this going to screw up the self-destruct sequence? Will we run into Wesker and Birkin? ....and why do have this sense of foreboding?_ Daniel concentrated, trying to locate the hidden source of mental warning. Something about the timing was off. In a very bad way. _...but what?_

When the turntable jerked to a halt, Daniel left the trail for now. Two directions to choose from. Closest to Daniel was a huge hallway big enough to fit a train into. It traveled for twenty feet before ending in a pile of rubble that provided quite the barrier. Before the rubble was a large door. On the other side of the turntable, the path split into three branches. The right branch was stunted, lasting two feet before ending at a door. The middle path went straight from the turntable to a second door. The left and final path took a hard left and continued on out of sight.

Jessica took one look around. "We are **not** splitting off into ones."


	17. First Tyrant

Billy, Daniel, Rebecca, & Jessica

Appearances were deceiving. Of the four possible paths, three were locked. And the last held a surprise. Rebecca and Daniel checked the hallway to the elevator, next to the rubble _._ She spotted the key first, or at least she thought so, and bent down to pick it up. While she did that, Daniel checked the door and found it to be locked as he expected. What he wasn't sure about was Enrico. _Is he going to show up now or are we ahead of schedule?_ When he heard gears moving behind the locked door, he glanced behind him. He inwardly grimaced when he saw Jessica and Billy stepping into their portion of the hallway, after discovering that the second hallway lead to a dead-end. And since they now heard the elevator, both of them came toward it, weapons out, just in case. Rebecca shot to her feet as she readied her machine gun. _This....might not end well._ For the sake of appearances, he aimed his rifle at the door and hoped Enrico didn't shoot anyone...or anyone shoot him.

When the door slid open, the leader of Bravo team froze as he noted the four guns pointed at the tall, raven-haired man. The moment of tension passed when Rebecca let out a happy shout. "Captain!"

The mustachioed Enrico relaxed, and Daniel thought everything might go smoothly...then Enrico saw Billy. Billy had lowered his weapon but only halfway. When Enrico's handgun snapped toward him, Billy's sub-machine gun retook its old post. "What's he doing here?" Enrico demanded in that deep, baritone voice of his.

 _So, that's his voice. Good, liked it better than the Remake's version. Wait, does that mean Leon sounds like Leon from RE2 or RE4? Dude, get off the tangent and focus back on the situation._ The situation was currently holding at a very tense silence. Rebecca's earlier glee was now mixed with equal parts of shame and bewilderment. Billy kept his face blank as he aimed his weapon. And Jessica's frustration increased rapidly as Daniel watched. He opened his mouth to try to start a civil discussion but she was faster at the draw.

"What the hell man? We've got enough monsters tryin' to kill us without addin' each other to the list. Put the damned gun down!" The cowgirl demanded as she placed herself between the two men.

Enrico's eyes flashed to his medic. "Did you inform them of the fugitive's crimes, Rebecca?"

"Yeah, she did, and I ain't buyin' it!" Jessica intercepted as she glared at Bravo leader. "I don't know what ya've been up to while your squad been's gittin' beat up, but Billy here has been doing his damnedst to keep Eddy and Becky here alive, along with the rest of us, while ya've been MIA. So, from my perspective, ya're the bad guy here!"

Enrico's eyes narrowed on her, but the professional kept the rest of his expression calm, leaving Daniel to wonder if he was just angry with Jessica or also with himself. But after another small pause, Enrico addressed Rebecca again. "Is she telling the truth?"

Rebecca nodded hard, nearly popping her neck. "Yes, sir. Billy has been very cooperative with us and has been a major help to us as we've tried to find an escape route out of the facility."

"Where's Edward?"

Rebecca flinched as regret slapped her. Enrico winced and wearily sighed before his attention returned to Billy. The convict silently watched the exchange and when he met the Bravo leader's gaze, Billy slowly lowered his weapon. The older man stared at the former lieutenant with trepidation, especially at the grenade launcher on Billy's back, before he matched Billy's gesture. "Have you seen anyone else from STARS?"

"Your pilot is somewhere back in the facility, knocked out and in good need of a doctor," Jessica answered as she jabbed her thumb upward. "If ya know a way out, now might be the best time to say it."

Enrico nodded as he looked over Rebecca's shoulder to the other elevator. "I've studied blueprints and found a train terminal connected by that elevator. It might be locked, but it's the closest exit to us."

Billy shook his head. "No good. We crashed the train on our way in and the place was filled with fire."

Enrico frowned as he listened. "How long ago was that? Do we have any fire extinguishers at our disposal?"

Daniel tackled these questions. "No fire extinguishers, but it's been several hours since the crash."

"Then we should verify the terminal's current situation. The only other exit involves going deeper underground through another Umbrella facility," Enrico ordered before he focused his attention on the cowgirl and soldier. "I'm sorry for not introducing myself sooner. I'm Enrico Marini, Captain of STARS Bravo team."

"Private Sims of the 287th Transpo, sir." Daniel returned with a nod.

Jessica jerked a thumb at herself. "Jessica June, monster slayer."

"I'll wait for your explanations as to how you came across a secret, bio-weapons lab after we're safe," Marini said as he stepped towards the other elevator. He glanced at Billy. "And I need you to surrender that launcher immediately."

Billy couldn't blame the cop's caution, but it was still frustrating to have to go through this cycle again, especially after being free from this ever since Edward became KIA. He didn't fight as he surrendered the grenade launcher, along with his supply of grenades. Enrico raised an eyebrow at Rebecca when he realized just how well-armed Billy was. She sheepishly looked along the walls. The captain let it drop as he resumed his march to the other elevator.

All but Daniel immediately fell into step behind him, but the Reservist lagged behind as he wrapped his mind around this new development. _Is this right? I mean, it might all be moot if the train station is too smoky but what if it isn't? What if we can just walk out of here in the next half an hour? Then what? Birkin is supposed to start the self-destruct sequence but when? What if Marcus escapes?_ This new plan didn't sit well with him. But that warning buzz at the back of his brain was back in full force. He was forgetting something. Something very important...but what?

"Are you okay?" Daniel jerked out of his thoughts as he looked at Rebecca. The medic stared at him with restrained worry. "Nothing bad is about to happen, right?"

Daniel looked forward and saw that Rebecca had handed the key to Enrico who was only a few steps from the elevator. Instinctively, he looked at the large hallway's entrance. He saw where the door would slide down, trapping anyone inside with a very dangerous new monster. "We should catch up." Perhaps he should've said it better. Because Rebecca started scanning every piece of metal, rubble, and hole for whatever was about to hit him. _No point in staring at the cracks, Rebecca. This next one isn't going to fit in there._

Although oblivious to the real danger, Enrico kept a wary eye out, both for ambush and on Billy. He easily unlocked the elevator and pressed the 'down' button. Daniel took that as his cue to shift the M16 to burst. Everyone but Enrico caught it and stared at him. _You're doing it again. It's a frickin' Tyrant! Taking no chances with this one, too!_ Daniel maintained his stare at the rubble pile blocking the rest of the hallway, right at its top. The rest of them immediately looked at the same spot...right as a humanoid shape stepped out of the shadows.

"He's a big boy," Jessica muttered as she trained her shotgun on the creature.

Enrico heard her, turned, and froze as he saw the blue-skinned giant halted as it stared over its newest batch of victims. "What is that?" He asked, his normal, calm veneer breaking slightly as his eyes focused on its enormous claw.

The twitching monster spread out its arm and claw as it unleashed a roar into the air.

"It's hostile! Kill it!" Daniel shouted back, as he fired the first burst straight into the massive, exterior heart. "Aim for the heart!" He yelled as the tyrant barked in pain, its white eyes focusing on the soldier as its first target. Daniel responded with another burst.

"Hell yeah!" Jessica cheered as she added buckshot to the rifle rounds. Billy wished he still had the grenade launcher, but made do as he lit the tyrant up with his machine gun.

 _How can its heart take all that punishment and still beat!?_ The thought befuddled the team medic but wasn't enough to stop her from adding the second machine gun to the mix. Enrico reflexively pointed his handgun at the monster, then stopped and holstered it before reaching for the grenade launcher.

The sheer amount of firepower staggered the tyrant before it leaped at the man who started the firestorm. Daniel nearly tripped over himself as he back-stepped away from it while it nearly landed on top of him. "Damn it, Sims! Git out of the way!" Jessica yelled at him as she stopped firing and tried to swing around to remove the soldier from her line of fire. Enrico scowled, taking his finger off the trigger, just as he flipped off the launcher's safety. But Rebecca and Billy were free to continue firing, and fire they did. As massive and as powerful as that heart was, the bullets punctured it, causing it to send bright gushes of blood spraying every which way. The tyrant wailed but stomped toward Daniel, determined to kill at least one thing before it expired.

Daniel's response was to fire one more burst before taking off a dead run back over the turntable. _Need more space!_ The tyrant crouched low before jumping at the soldier, swinging its claw in a wide arc. Daniel felt his empty sleeve tug at him followed by a loud, metal noise. Against his better judgment, he took a glimpse over his shoulder. His left sleeve now was a measly three inches long and the tyrant's claw now embedded in the metal framework that usually held a train engine. Daniel felt like his heart was running a 100-meter dash when he realized just how close he nearly been to being cut in pieces. _I don't remember it being able to jump that far!_

With Daniel now directly in front of the tyrant, Billy and Rebecca ceased fire before trying to re-position themselves on the tyrant's flanks. Enrico and Jessica, with their head start, were almost in position. Enrico sprinted around the other half of the metal grating, encouraging Daniel to get more distance on the monster. Jessica grinned as the tyrant noticed her on the other side of the grating and its claw. "Hi there," she said before firing nearly at point-blank range into its face. It roared as it stumbled back, its claw tearing free of the metal, and fresh blood pouring out of its newly damaged eye.

She cocked the shotgun, ready for another round when Enrico yelled at her to fall back. While the tyrant swayed, clutching the side of its head, Daniel's race ended with him well enough away. Enrico now stood next to him, grenade launcher staring straight at the giant. "Awww, fine." She muttered to herself before she ran away from the target. The tyrant was pushing the pain away as it scanned for its original victim. It caught sight of Daniel right as the first grenade whistled through the air. It landed square in its heart.

Enrico lowered the launcher, watching as the tyrant wobbled back and forth. But when he thought it'd fall over, it righted itself even though its heart was now red, blue, and now black. "It survived?" He breathed out as he watched the creature take a shaky step forward.

"Now would be a good time to fire again, sir!" Daniel ‘suggested’ as he looked between the STARS member and Umbrella's prototype weapon.

The suggestion worked and Enrico braced himself before firing again, hitting the same spot. The tyrant jerked its head back as it released an agonized roar. For a brief second, Enrico thought it was going to keep coming. But the roar died away as it pitched forward, twitching once...then twice before becoming still. All five humans stared at it for an entire minute before everyone relaxed. Rebecca's curiosity got the better of her and she tentatively walked towards it. "What is it?"

"Ain't it obvious?" Jessica replied as she casually walked over to the blue body, stomping over its claw for the heck of it. "It's a super-zombie."

Rebecca tried to throw her a dubious look but she couldn't deny how true it could be. "Well, at least we know it's probably another Umbrella bio-weapon experiment."

"How did it escape?" Billy wondered as the team regrouped next to their latest kill.

Rebecca asked, "What do you mean Billy?"

"The kid and I saw a video feed of that thing in its test tube, about ten minutes ago?" Billy explained as Jessica opened the elevator. "The tube looked like it was fully functional, so I want to know how that thing woke up and made its way over here."

 _Kid?_ Daniel threw a half-hearted scowl at Billy. _Don't I get a little more credit now?_ Whatever anger he did felt was overwhelmed by relief and happiness at being both alive and unharmed by the evil, blue giant.

"Ya think there are more of them?" Jessica asked hopefully as she gazed toward the rubble pile.

"That's not our concern," Enrico answered as he led the way to the elevator. "We need to evacuate our wounded back to Raccoon City, secure Coen, and continue our investigation into Umbrella's activities. I've located another Umbrella site that seems to be the primary labs. The others should be on their way there now."

Jessica frowned at the part about Billy, but Rebecca replied first. "Did you see them recently? Was everyone else alright?"

Enrico nodded as he headed for the back of the elevator as everyone piled in. "Everyone was fine, but I contacted them through radio. You and Edward were the only ones I couldn't reach."

"Uh, excuse me, but how's the Raccoon City bit gonna work?" Jessica broke in as she looked over the floor choices. Enrico already pressed in 'Level One', but there were two other levels, not including their own level three.

Enrico questioned Rebecca, "Did Kevin get the helicopter radio working before his injury?"

The medic wearily nodded her head. "No, sir."

"Then we're going to have to accomplish it the old-fashioned way. Rebecca, you'll lead the civilians, Private Sims, Kevin, and the fugitive back to Raccoon City, contact and send Alpha team to a location to reinforce Bravo squad."

Several cries of protest sounded off from everyone else except Billy. "Captain! I think I should continue to be involved in the investigation as I am the team's medic," Rebecca countered strongly, both angry and fearful at the thought of leaving her team behind.

"Sir, I may be infected," Daniel began reluctantly. "It might be best if I travel with you and provide some heavy firepower until...we determine if I'm infected or not."

"Like hell ya're sendin' me back!" Was Jessica's simple yet ferocious message.

"You're a civilian, it's our job to keep you safe, not put you squarely in the face of danger," The STARS veteran started before turning to Rebecca. "You may be the only medic, Rebecca, but you're also our most inexperienced officer. You're not prepared for this situation and can serve STARS best by being out of danger and being ready to treat any wounded officers returning from the investigation." Lastly, he directed his attention at Daniel. His verbal counter-attack, smooth so far, faltered now as he regarded the soldier, his eyes flashing at the bitten arm. "There is a possibility that there's a vaccine located at the primary labs. If you continue to be involved in this investigation, you may very well increase the rate of your current infection."

"And if there is no cure, then all you've done is placed a zombie in the center of the town," Daniel argued. "If there is no cure, then speeding up the rate of infection will at least give me a quicker death."

"From what I've read, there's a chance that you could be immune-" Enrico offered as an alternative explanation.

Daniel cut him off, "Then you'll need me more for this investigation since you won't have to worry about me dying to the T-virus, and I have extensive combat experience against Umbrella's bio-weapons, which your other STARS members will lack...sir." He added respectfully to make up for his rude interruption.

The elevator doors opened and while heat quickly rushed into the elevator car, Rebecca noticed that it wasn't nearly as smoky as she remembered it. "We'll finish this conversation later, private," Enrico told the soldier before he carefully advanced out of the elevator.

Billy silently added a few more points to Daniel's tally as he followed the Bravo leader out. Jessica glowered, nowhere finished with her arguments but willing to restrain herself…for now. For once, Rebecca sympathized with the cowgirl. Partially. _I'm not being sent back on my first mission,_ she promised herself, and she was determined to not let another comrade die.

The train engine sat a few feet away from the elevator's exit, facing forward to the far wall. Billy barely recognized the space between the engine and the first car as where he and the others choked and tried to see through the haze to their only exit. Now, the fires and smoke receded, giving him a much clearer view. His view left their spot and focused on the rest of the train. While he couldn't see past the third car, he could see enough to see that there was a path, if the tiny size of outside fire patches indicated anything about the interior.

Enrico experimentally touched the car's door. When the metal didn't burn his skin, he gripped the knob and threw it open. "Cover me."

"Wait," Rebecca said as she faced the exit that lead back into the sewers beneath the training facility. "I should head back now and get Kevin to the infirmary and see that he's fully treated before we leave." She glanced at Daniel. "We should also see the rest of your friends are doing, too."

"You're right; Rebecca take care of that at once," Enrico affirmed as he looked at the remaining three able-bodies. "Coen, you're staying here with me, Private Sims, you escort Ms. Chambers and Ms. June to the other members of your party."

"Hold on! Stop with this 'keepin' me out of danger' BS! I can fight just as well as you can." She argued as she glared at him.

"You're a civilian, and my job is to protect civilians, not put them on the front line of danger," Enrico countered matter-of-factly, his attention already back on the train as he measured its state, still standing behind Billy, keeping the fugitive in his line-of-sight.

"And does your job include fightin' through legions of undead? Or fightin' big-ass bugs? Or, how 'bout this one, do ya really want to be the only one with the scary 'mass-murderer'? No offense, Billy." She quickly added.

"None taken."

Enrico paused before reluctantly replying, "Defend the rear, and if you disobey that order that I'll send you with Chambers and Sims."

"Just go with it, Jessica," Daniel whispered to her.

Jessica glared at her partner-in-crime before she heaved an overly dramatic sigh. "Fine."

"You must survive in order to expose this nightmare..."


	18. Taking Option D

Daniel & Rebecca

As Daniel stepped back into the sewers, he wondered if his sense of smell had degraded from 'weak' to 'half-dead'. He remembered smelling the rotting corpse back on the tram....and nothing much else actually. Even here, sloshing through ankle-high sewage provoked no reaction from his nose. That might have frustrated him normally. But right now, he felt like tearing out his hair due to another problem. _What am I forgetting!?_ The nagging sensation now consumed him, bearing a warning that he should know. But he still couldn't put his finger on it. _Start from the top again. Down the elevator to the treatment facility. Treatment facility to the Marcus fight. Marcus fight to freight elevator. Freight elevator to leech queen fight....what is it!?_

Just as he sensed that he was upon the answer, Rebecca asked, "So, what are your parents' like?"

Daniel twitched and nearly screamed out of frustration as the answer he nearly grabbed onto shot away from his mind. _*@#!_ The glasses-wearing high-schooler paused as he massaged his scalp trying to remember what her question was. "Mom's a nurse. And Dad's a preacher."

Rebecca frowned at the short reply. _Was hoping for a little more than that._ "Is that all?"

The soldier reminded himself that Rebecca wasn't purposely sabotaging his attempts to decipher an important mystery. That they were walking through a sewer, and she probably wanted and deserved some kind of distraction. None of that changed his desire to kick the gook toward her. "What do you want to know in particular?"

Rebecca heard the faint echo of annoyance and considered dropping it. _Maybe I'm getting too close to the truth? ...but, if that were true, wouldn't he just told me to stop?_ Siding with curiosity, she continued. "Well, what do they look like? Where do you get your blond hair from?"

He surrendered as he left the mental trail to tackle her question and found it hard in a different way. "Mom," He answered quietly. "I get my light hair and my eyes from her. Dad has black hair and brown eyes and... he's still taller than me." He added in before grabbing the first rung of the sewer ladder.

Behind him, Rebecca's jaw was wide open. _It...it can't be! Is that how he knows!? Is he...is he my future son? That would explain how his information is so accurate and - no. Wait, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself._ "Does...does your mom work in the medical field?"

Memories dulled Daniel's attention as he climbed the ladder, ignorant of Rebecca's surprise and confusion. "Yeah. I think she's one of the best."

The back of her mind prodded her to keep up with her compatriot. She quickly hopped onto the ladder and caught up to him. "Was...was your Dad with the Marines?"

Daniel paused. Something nudging at the back of his mind. _Was Dad with the Marines or the Army? Hmmm, oh right._ "Yeah, but only for a little bit."

Rebecca's heart froze as his words swam around in her mind. _It's true! He is my son! Wait, what if he's lying just to protect the timeline? But, if he's trying to ensure that, why would he be here at all? Is he counting on me to be smart enough to figure it out? Why would I let him come back at all? Does my future self even know what he's done? Wait....I get married to Billy!?_

"Hey Rebecca?" Her head jerked up and she saw that Daniel was already out. He was looking down at her with a raised eyebrow. "Are you coming?"

"Yes, I'm coming," She replied before she restarted climbing up the ladder.

 _I wonder what got into her._ Daniel let the matter drop before he walked over to his friends. All three of them were sitting in chairs near the front entrance. Tim had his arm around Katelyn, while Bruce kept a careful eye on the doors. Kevin was lying on the red carpet near the front doors, his arm propped up against a pillar to prevent anything shoving the glass still in his arm deeper. "Everyone okay?"

Tim nodded to him, his expression a little tense. "It's been really quiet since the rest of you left. Actually, I half-expected something to jump out about an hour ago but nothing happened. How about you guys?"

"Everyone's still alive, and we found another STARS member to help out," Daniel explained as he knelt down next to Kevin. The pilot was still asleep, free from painful awareness for now.

"Did you find a way out?" Katelyn asked hopefully as she lifted her head from Tim's shoulder.

"Jessica and the others are checking the train way to see if we can get out that way. We've come back to get Kevin here to the infirmary," The soldier gestured to himself and Rebecca as she finished climbing out of the sewers. "Just sit tight until we're back. Hopefully, we'll have an exit soon."

Rebecca knelt down by Kevin, studying every inch of his arm for any kind of development. To her relief, his condition hadn't deteriorated, her first aid proving itself very effective. She looked over at the other teenagers and focused on the tall, quiet one. "Um, can you help us?"

"His name's Bruce," Tim helpfully supplied.

"Thank you, Bruce, could you help me carry Kevin upstairs to the infirmary?" The brown-haired teen nodded before slipping out of his chair. "If you get his torso, I'll get his legs," Rebecca offered. Bruce silently complied. His arms gingerly locked around the unconscious man's waist. The medic holstered her weapons as best as she could before grabbing the pilot's legs.

Daniel took the lead as the three of them went up the stairs back into the conference room. Although he wanted to devote mind power to figuring out the subconscious warning ringing in his mind, he remembered that the eliminators might try for another ambush. The hospital trio had no trouble in the conference room. However, when they stepped through the knight doors, Daniel's wariness paid off. He brought the group to a halt before he snuck up to the corner. Trying to move as slowly as he could, he leaned his head out for a glimpse down the hallway. Two baboons paced around, waiting for an easy target to stumble into their vision. He signaled the others to keep the door open in case they needed to fall back.

He took a deep breath before he deliberately shuffled around the corner. To his luck, the eliminators apparently had some altercation and were now snarling at each other. _Works for me,_ Daniel thought as he took aim. Rifle in 'burst' mode, he exhaled, squeezing the trigger at the natural pause between breaths. The first eliminator gargled as three high-velocity rounds pierced through its neck, maw, and brain. The second eliminator jumped back right as Daniel fired off a quick second volley, trying to maximize his surprise, but only one of the bullets hit, and that shot landed in its shoulder.

The eliminator squealed before charging toward him. Daniel tried another volley, but missed the critical point, his aim only good enough to trip up the failed bio-weapon when one shot hit its leg. With the break, the soldier added another second to waiting as he lined up his next shot. _Got you._ He squeezed the trigger...and heard a tell-tale 'click'. "Crap!" He nearly tore the empty magazine out of the rifle as he willed the eliminator to stay right where it was. The eliminator ignored his will as it climbed back up and stormed toward him again. _Get in there!_ He mentally yelled at the new clip, as he unintentionally crashed it up the wrong way. Before he could do it right, the eliminator leaped at him.

With his heart running at a hundred miles per hour, Daniel hopped back around the corner as a white blur flew past his face, nearly taking his glasses and a little bit more with it. The eliminator crashed face-first into the wall and landed hard on its back. While it tried to shake off its daze, Daniel properly reloaded, chambered the first round, and fired on it. The scare he was forced to undergo retaliated by driving him to fire again and again, until the beast finally stopped moving, somewhere after the fourteenth bullet. He paused after his victory before taking a deep breath and leaning back against the wall. _It feels good to be alive and free from pain!_

"Is it dead?" A groggy, tense voice inquired.

The blond soldier glanced at the others and saw that Kevin was now back with the conscious. Daniel nodded. "Hallway is clear." He pushed himself off the wall. "You holding up okay?"

"I'm...looking forward to a dose of painkillers," The brown-haired pilot grunted back.

"Then let's get you there," Daniel replied before the group moved on. The infirmary was still free from danger thanks to Jessica and Billy's earlier visit.

"Closest bed," Rebecca ordered as she took command. Bruce obeyed and they deposited Kevin carefully on the nearest one before Rebecca raced over to the medicine cabinet.

Daniel peered over the rest of the infirmary and realized that he wouldn't mind sitting down. He took a step to the next empty bed before he paused. "Do you need any help Rebecca?"

"I'll help," Bruce offered, stepping toward her. Daniel couldn't stop the look of relief flashing onto his face, but he banished it the next moment.

Rebecca still caught it and glanced at the empty beds. "I'll only need one person to help and thank you for offering Bruce. Could you help me sort through the cabinet?"

Bruce nodded as he came up to the cabinet. Daniel took that as his cue to go lie down. For the first time this night, he removed and left his M16 against the foot of the bed. He dropped his back-up handgun next to it. Now weaponless, he walked along the bed's side, made an about-face, and let himself drop onto the soft mattress. After that last scare and being chased by a Tyrant, he found the rest well welcomed. He glanced over at the pilot and was struck by a question. "Hey Kevin, why did you change your mind and come with us?"

"Oh, that," The man replied with an undertone of embarrassment that caught Daniel by surprise. "Well..."

Flashback

As Kevin went back to work on the copter, he kept one eye out on the surrounding area. Although he knew the area wasn't safe when he first 'arrived', now the forest actually seemed to be gripped in a foreboding atmosphere. He paused, taking a tentative step toward the strange bunch of teenagers. Again, he paused, shook his head, and walked back to the copter. _If I see any warning signs, I'll run after them._

Coincidentally, there was rustling in the nearby bushes."Who's there?" He yelled. No answer. With his gun locked onto the bushes, he slowly walked toward them. When he reached them, he shoved his gun into them, yelling, "Freeze!" Something leapt at his face. The pilot screamed as he tried to jump back, slipping on a tree branch. As he landed on his back, he flung his arms off to try to buy himself a few precious seconds from whatever was trying to kill him. Something landed on his visor. But instead of claws or fangs, Kevin felt it scurry right off of him. Kevin rolled over and looked at where the thing ran to. Before it disappeared in the brush, the pilot caught a clear view of it. A squirrel. A tiny, gray squirrel that shot him one last look before escaping into the bushes. "...to hell with this."

End Flashback

Daniel's face scrunched up, he 'coughed' a little, and he turned away from looking straight at Kevin. But he successfully contained the laughter aching to erupt from his chest. "Well...glad you came along."

"Laugh it up, I know I deserved it," Kevin replied dryly before sighing. "I'm as bad as Brad." He winced as Rebecca removed the final shard of glass. "Freaking out over a squirrel. Freezing during the attack."

"You weren't trained for this," Rebecca gently countered. "Your job is to simply get our team and get us out. You were never supposed to stay on the ground with us."

Her radio screeched. "Rebecca, this is Enrico over." She looked between the radio and Kevin, measuring how much more work she had left.

"I'll answer it," Daniel answered as he pulled himself off the bed. He accepted the radio from her before hitting the button. "Sir, this is Private Sims answering, over."

"Roger, we've established an escape route through the train. Gather your people and meet us at the exit ASAP, over."

Daniel frowned as that earlier mystery reappeared at the back of his mind. "Understood. We'll be on our way soon, over."

"Enrico out."

"Is there something wrong?" Rebecca asked, glancing over her shoulder at him.

 _Is there? What am I missing...treatment facility, fight Marcus, go up the elevator, leech queen chases, get to the top, hold it off, open up the roof for the sun..light...oh._ Daniel's wrist jerked sideways, the face of his watch staring directly at him. 2:13 AM. _THAT'S IT! If we go the traditional route, we'll be stuck in a boss fight without the key weapon. But shouldn't we have enough incendiary grenades to deal with it? ...no, no, we don't. Which means the queen would be practically invincible._ He looked back at the others, his eyes widening a little. _I just nearly led us into a slaughter! What kind of leader am I?_

"Daniel?" Rebecca repeated, gently prodding him for a response.

"Iiiii.....I'll be better once we're out of here," The soldier decided.

"I'll second that," Kevin added as he stared at the ceiling as Rebecca finished wrapping the last bandages on. "What has happened while I've been out? That was the captain on the radio. Does that mean the rest of STARS is here?"

Daniel couldn't help but notice how Rebecca winced at the question. "No. Only Enrico found us. We still don't know where the rest of the team is."

Kevin nodded absentmindedly as he absorbed the information. "Well, that's almost half the team at least. Is Edward with Enrico right now?"

The silence oppressed the room the other three occupants avoided looking at Kevin. The pilot's eyes darted from one to the other. "...is he severely wounded?"

Again, Daniel spared Rebecca the explanation as he met Kevin's gaze, shame and weariness squeezing his heart. "We lost Edward several hours ago to a leech zombie. We locked him in the basement area with Shantia. Her blood was drained from her by several infected leeches."

Kevin paused before dropping his head back on the pillow. "Damn."

Rebecca stepped back from the bed before she announced in a monotone, "All done." Kevin pulled his legs off the bed before he sat up. He studied his hand, which now had a splint for every broken finger while his arm was bandaged from shoulder to elbow. "How do you feel, Kevin?"

His eyes flashed up at her before going back to looking over his arm. "The painkillers are working. But it looks like I won't be using a gun anytime soon." He stood up and noticed for the first time that his arm wasn't the only one bandaged. "What happened to you?"

Daniel wore a wry smile as he jabbed a thumb back into the hallway. "First time we ran into those things, it bit my arm."

Kevin winced as he shot a glance back at the hallway door before returning back to the reservist. "Ouch. Well at least you survived."

Rebecca and Daniel shared a look. _He doesn't know about the virus._ Daniel tried to smile and reassure the pilot. "Yeah, you're right."

Kevin sighed, his attention on both of them now. "What? What am I missing now?" He prodded sourly. "It's just a bite...right?"

Daniel took one last moment to stare at the nice, danger-free ceiling before he willed himself to get up. The simple command carried a powerful and unexpected difficulty: his body didn't want to get up. It liked the bed. And the bed liked it back as its gentle yet deceptive pillow latched onto the back of his head, tempting to stay there for as long as he wanted. He groaned before he fought off the bed's temptations as he rolled off of it, his feet landing on the floor and righting the rest of him as he unwilling stood up. He secured his weapons, his rifle taking its familiar spot across his torso. When he turned around, he saw Kevin alternatively glaring at him and Rebecca. Rebecca was doing her usual poor job at hiding her guilt while she helped Kevin up. And Bruce waited uncomfortably by the door. _Just one, big happy team,_ Daniel thought wearily.


	19. Someone Wants a Rematch

Main Hall Survivors

_I finally get a moment alone with Katelyn and I can't take advantage of it,_ Tim thought ruefully. Now that they were by themselves, the hall felt more menacing. Although an assault rifle sat next to him in the seat over, its promise of heavy firepower did little to relieve his worries. He wanted to talk and at least break through the sadistic silence, but its grip was ironclad, warning him that he'd only accomplish distracting himself. And if that moment came, BAM! Something would attack them. Or at least he thought that's what would happen. Given that this was a Resident Evil game, he believed it was more than likely. So he sat there, quietly, chafing at the waiting. The first hour of waiting after Daniel and the others had left to explore had been almost unbearable. He couldn't talk because of the threat of ambush. He couldn't use his phone, or it'd run out of battery power. He swore the first thing he'd do once he was back in civilization was to call his folks and let them know he was alright.

He almost left the main hall to try to catch up with the others. Doing something would be infinitely better than waiting around and accomplishing nothing. But he couldn't for three reasons. One, he didn't know where the others were. Two, Kevin still needed to be guarded while he slept. Three, and biggest one of all, Katelyn. If she came, then he'd be putting her in danger. If she didn't come, then she'd be stuck here worried sick about him. So, he was stuck. The double doors behind the statue aggravated him as he wished the others would come back. Now that he knew that they might be getting out of here soon, the waiting was painful.

Then sweet, sweet relief arrived in the form of opening doors as Daniel lead the others, including an awake and walking Kevin, back into the main hall. 

"We're getting out of here." The blond soldier announced as he and the others marched down the stairs. "Enrico found a way through the train, and that's how we're getting out."

"That's great!" Tim replied before looking over at Katelyn with a big grin. "Not long now!" She returned a smaller but no less enthusiastic smile.

"Here's how we're going to do this," Daniel began as he stepped onto the mezzanine. "Tim, you and Bru-!" A large thump came from behind Marcus' large portrait. The startled group swung all attention and several gun barrels at the noise.

Kevin stared at the portrait with complete befuddlement. "What's that?"

"Not sure, but it can't get through," Daniel reassured them as he relaxed, showing a look of confidence for the pilot. He opened his mouth to return to his plan when a loud moan emitted from where the thumps were. The color drained out of Rebecca's face as she identified it first.

Kevin's confusion was replaced by shock. "Is...is that Edward's voice?"

Daniel grimaced before waving them on. "It doesn't matter. All that matters-" His voice faltered again when a second moan joined the first. He didn't need anyone to tell him whose it was.

"Shantia," Tim muttered as he stared at Marcus' face nervously.

No matter how powerful the urge was, Daniel resolve not to look at the portrait. No matter if it felt like all of his past failures were now confronting him. No matter if his heart ached and asked, "What did I do wrong?" He tried to shake it all off. _Focus._ "We...," He paused as the word that slipped out sounded far too meek. He took a breath and attempted to harden his voice and face like a tough soldier. "We need to get everyone out of here as quickly and as safely as possible. I'll keep point. Tim, Bruce, you guys defend the rear. Katelyn, since you don't have a gun, you're staying in the center of the group. Got it?"

Feeble acknowledgements echoed from each of them. Daniel moved off the stairs, rounding around the railing and took a moment to study the ladder to the sewers. _Isn't there supposed to be a zombie waiting down there now? Or am I confusing things with the Leech Hunter mini-game?_ Regardless, after nothing moved for a minute, he slung his rifle across his back before he climbed down. He hopped off the stairs, skipping the last two rungs and immediately grabbed his rifle. Nothing rose to greet him. He made way as the others descended. _Nice and quiet_ , he thought as the group trudged through.

Daniel was two steps from the door when Tim called out, "Does anyone else hear that?"

"Everyone freeze," The point man commanded. The group waited as the water noises stopped. Then they all heard it. A sound of something slimy slithering across stone and water. Daniel and Rebecca shared a look before the medic shined her flashlight behind them, piercing through the darkness behind the metal bars. "Oh crap." He remembered the train hallway littered with leech eggs, the horror as those eggs began to pop. This was worse. Because the swarm of giant leeches behind them were coming at them full speed, already intent on drinking their blood.

"Those are the leeches!?" Kevin shouted out as he watched the swarm close the distance between them.

"Run!" Daniel ordered. His hand snapped out and threw open the exit door. Instead of diving in, he jumped to the side, frantically gesturing for the others to go first. "Run along the wall! Give me a line of fire!"

"Careful where you aim that!" Tim warned him as he and Katelyn rushed through the door.

Even before he opened fire, Daniel knew he couldn't slow them down. _But at least I feel useful!_ Every shot echoed throughout the sewers, making it sound like an entire squad was defending itself instead of one lone man.

"We're in!" Bruce yelled at him as he leapt through, a leech only a foot behind his leg.

Daniel needed no other incentive as he surrendered his position to the leeches. He jumped through the open doorway before Rebecca slammed it shut behind him. "Everyone okay?"

Tim nodded. "Yeah, we got- holy crap, your leg!"

Daniel's head snapped down. And he saw what Tim saw. One lone leech trying to bite through his tough boot. "Gyah!" He shook his foot furiously, but it wouldn't fly off. He paused, looked around, and banged his foot and it against the wall. After three tries, it wasn't smooshed. He felt a tiny fang begin to puncture through and nearly panicked. When he felt something else against his other foot, he nearly yelped as he imagined a second leech hitchhiker. But when he scanned it, he found something much more helpful. _Need to remember to thank Billy._ With a lot less caution than he'd normally use, his hand curled around the knife's handle and jerked it out, nearly cutting his entire calf. He knelt down, passed the knife from his left hand to right, and proceeded to saw through the leech. It squealed but refused to relinquish its grip until after he cut it into two. Once both halves of it were off, he rested on his knees and waited for his breathing to slow down.

Rebecca knelt next to him. "Did it bite you?" She fretted.

Daniel paused before sticking two of his fingers down the edge of the boot. When he pulled them out, they were distinctly blood-free. He shook his head. "I'm alright." _Ha! Screw you, Marcus! Screw! You!_ After carefully replacing the knife into its sheath, he pushed himself off the ground and pointed at the train. "Let's get out of here before anything else shows up."

"I second that!" Tim declared enthusiastically before leading his girlfriend to the train. "Since it's gonna be a mess inside, I say we walk along the top."

"Sounds good enough for me," Daniel replied.

Kevin frowned at the turned over car. "I'm going to need some help," He admitted reluctantly, unconsciously rubbing his bandaged arm.

"Don't worry, we'll get you up there," Tim assured him before he ascended, using the open doorway to get him on top of the train. One by one, the group made their way up with Daniel being the last one. Just as he got a hand on the top edge of the train, they all heard a noise coming from the back of the station.

Katelyn stared in the direction with a quizzical expression. "Is that an elevator?"

Daniel shot one alarmed look that way before he scrambled up. "Keep moving," he urged energetically.

"What if it's another person?" Kevin protested as he strained to get a good look.

"Kevin, there are only two groups of humans left in this place," Daniel barked back. "Us and the others at the exit. Whatever's coming up, it isn't friendly. Now move it!"

A ding alerted everyone that the elevator arrived. Tim took one last look before he accepted his friend's advice, Bruce and Katelyn in tow. Yet, Kevin remained obstinate. "How can you know that?"

A familiar, heavy trudging incited a panicked look on Rebecca. "It can't be. We, we killed it. Enrico hit it with grenades!"

Kevin's eyes flashed in-between the footsteps and Rebecca. "What? What is it?" Then he saw it. Its heart was still black and blue, and it still twitched unnaturally every few steps. But the Tyrant had them in its sights. "Oh my god."

Daniel had already shifted into a kneeling firing position, rifle set to 'burst'. "Now will you please run!?" He demanded before firing the first part of the fusillade. The Tyrant snarled as new holes punctured its heart. It lifted its massive claw, and Daniel readied himself to run when if it jumped. But then it didn't attack. It merely held its claw there, in front of its heart, while it resumed its advance, depriving them of an easy yet critical target. _Argh! Why does it have to have **any** intelligence?_ Even with Rebecca firing, their combined hail of rounds couldn't convince the Tyrant to drop its claw. _We might as well be poking it with sticks!_ When it crouched, both of them took the sign and sprinted away.

Once the echoes of their volley died away, Rebecca heard her radio. "Come in, Rebecca! What is the situation? Report!" She reached for it when a large clunk blared from behind them. She peeked backwards and saw it rising from a new and large dent in the train. _If only he fell through it!_

Daniel didn't resist the urge to look back either. He was glad for it. He spun around and fired a quick burst, catching it with its guard down. Or that was the intent. His three shots ricocheted harmlessly off the train. He muttered a curse before taking a moment to aim. The claw was still out of the way, he had time for one more try. Then when he heard the 'click' of an empty chamber, he shouted, "Come on!"

"It's coming closer!" She warned him before jumping to the next car.

He didn't follow just yet as he frantically changed his clips. When his hand reached into his right cargo pocket, he came upon an unpleasant discovery. "Last clip!"

Rebecca wanted to scream at him to stop reloading and just run. As she watched from the end of the next car, the Tyrant was only a few feet away from him. Her machine gun couldn't pierce its defense...but maybe the magnum could. She hastily switched guns and unwilling counted the decreasing distance between the Tyrant and him. She jerked the magnum into position, lined up a quick shot, and squeezed the trigger. She didn't see if her round punched through. The powerful recoil laughed at her thin arms and her poor posture. It threw the magnum back, crashing the heavy piece of metal right into her right eye. The medic yelped as she nearly stepped backwards, coming close to falling into the space between train cars behind her.

The soldier finished reloading and hopped over onto Rebecca's current car, the Tyrant twitching right behind him. He caught up to her and blinked in surprise when he saw her clutching her eye. "What happened?"

Rebecca did her best not to sniffle. "An accident." Her good eye looked past him and watched their adversary come closer to the first jump. "He's about to come across. It's our best chance to get another shot in when he jumps." Daniel dropped the 'eye' subject for now as he turned around, however, when the blue giant came to the space between cars, it merely took one large step across, never exposing its weakness. "How are we supposed to stop it?"

Daniel waited until he and Rebecca made it to the far edge of the third car before digging into his other cargo pocket. "Grenades," he answered as he readied a throw after slinging his rifle. "Billy gave you two, right?"

She nodded and pulled out a bright green one. She bit her lip before asking, "How do I use it?"

He looked at her, surprised. "I thought all STARS members knew how to use them?"

"I'm new and the medic!" She replied defensively. With a heavy step, the Tyrant stepped onto their car. She wished it would simply step through a window.

Daniel didn't let it faze him for long. "I'll show you, but we need more distance first!" They retreated to the end of the next car, putting them next to the train engine. "First put your pin through the firing pin," he explained as he mirrored his words. "Pull it out." She flinched when he did it right there and wondered how long he had before it went off. "Keep your other thumb on the safety lever. It won't explode until the safety lever is off." The STARS member relaxed when she realized it wasn't going to go off. "Pull your arm back..." He shifted his gaze from her to the tyrant, which was now about to step onto their car. "And throw!" He imagined the grenade sailing through the air to lightly bounce off the creature's chest, placing it directly in front of him. In seconds, it'd go boom, giving them enough time to duck.

Now, if only reality matched his imagination.

Instead, the grenade flew high, bounced off the ceiling, and flew straight down. It crashed through a window before disappearing inside the train, no threat to him, Rebecca, or his target. Daniel didn't know what was worse: the wasted grenade or the embarrassment. _Oh...right...I almost failed the grenade assault course, now that I think about it._ As the Tyrant stepped onto their train car, a voice shouted from behind them. "Get outta there! We've got an entire, frickin' firin' squad waitin' out here!"

"Never thought I'd be happy to hear her voice," Rebecca muttered before she and Daniel sprinted for the exit. Their withdrawal went smoothly until Rebecca's damaged vision caused her to misstep halfway across. Her foot went too far left, stepping through an open window. She 'oofed' as she down, wincing as she banged one hard against the metal.

Daniel immediately halted and helped her back up, "You alright?"

"How close is it?" Was her fearful reply.

Daniel took one look and saw it only four feet behind them. "Move!" Rebecca didn't need any other encouragement. As they reached the end of the train, he finally saw everyone else. Katelyn, Bruce, and Kevin were far away in the forest, just at the edge of their vision. The others formed a large half-circle around the tunnel's entrance, weapons at the ready. It was a very welcomed sight. When the heavy stomps behind them stopped, Daniel reflexively looked back. The Tyrant hadn't caught up to them, but now that it was halfway across their car, it halted to crouch. Daniel knew what came next.

Rebecca stepped forward lightly, making sure she didn't slip off again before she jumped. Next thing her mind registered was a force hitting her from behind, throwing her off the train. For a brief, frightened second, she thought the giant super-zombie had hit her. But when she landed, she landed on something softer than the ground, accompanied by a familiar grunt.

Daniel would've cursed gravity for throwing him beneath Rebecca, yet again. But, truth be told, after watching the tip of the Tyrant's claw come within two inches of his neck, in slow motion no less, he was simply happy to be alive. He glanced up and saw that the Tyrant recovering from its miss. _More space._ He tightened his grip on Rebecca before rolling them away from the train.

Enrico mentally applauded the soldier's quick reactions. _Now to take advantage of them._ Billy, Jessica, Bruce, and Tim quickly opened fire on the exposed heart. Unfortunately, Enrico couldn't. In combat, one of the worst things to do is simply wait for the right moment. But as quickly as Daniel was moving, Enrico had to be sure he and Rebecca were out of the blast radius before Enrico could pull the trigger. The Tyrant jerked side-to-side as it stood up, the claw taking its former place over its heart. The STARS leader gritted his teeth at the missed opportunity and silently urged his two comrades to hurry. Right as the giant blue-skin crouched again, Enrico judged his two subordinates finally in the safe zone. _Let's find out how tough that claw really is._ The first grenade crashed into the tyrant, stopping it from jumping. The second grenade pinned it at the spot. But the third grenade still hadn't blown off that scaly claw! _One more, just one more!_ Enrico chanted to himself as he fired again...only for the grenade launcher to click empty. The Bravo Captain muttered a curse as he grabbed the last grenades for the weapon.

Daniel helped Rebecca up and took stock of the situation. He didn't like what he saw. Bruce was patting his pockets, checking for spare ammo, though Daniel was sure he didn't have any, which meant they were down one gun. Tim convinced Daniel that giving him the M16 was a mistake. The football player was very cautious, firing once every eight seconds. With a posture that tense, Daniel wouldn't have been surprised if Tim was missing all of his shots. Jessica was hollering insults as she kept the pressure up. But with two handguns, there wasn't any punch in her firepower. Only Enrico and Billy offered a staunch resistance strong enough to hold the Tyrant back. Now Enrico had to reload. 

_Back into the fray,_ Daniel thought as he turned to fire on the boss. He took one look, and shouted, "Enrico, incoming!"

The black-haired man looked before diving out of the way before the giant B.O.W. landed in his spot, creating a crater. "Get back!" Rebecca warned everyone before tossing a light green grenade at her target. Daniel recognized the color and scrambled behind the nearest tree as everyone cleared out. The Tyrant drew up to its full height and took a step back as it searched for its first target. The explosion showered it in poisonous liquid, seeping into its heart and its wounds. It howled as the acid sizzled over and in it.

"Finish it off!" Jessica hollered before jumping out from cover, shotgun blasting into its chest. The others followed her example as two machine guns and two assault rifles created an intense rain of metal, slamming into its exposed heart. It stumbled back and loosed one final defiant roar before it collapsed onto its back.

A lull swept over the impromptu battlefield so rapidly that Daniel thought for one irrational, split second that everyone else was knocked out. But a quick scan reassured him that everyone was merely watching the Tyrant warily. "Is it actually dead this time?" Jessica called out, breaking the silence.

"Only one way to be sure," Billy answered as he marched forward. "Somebody toss me a frag grenade."

Daniel checked his reserves and discovered he only had a last acid grenade. Enrico reacted to the request with a suspicious stare. Rebecca dug into her pocket and slowly pulled out a frag grenade. She glanced timidly at Enrico. But then she turned to Billy, and with one last bit of hesitation, tossed the grenade to him. Billy caught it and knelt down next to the powerful B.O.W. He ripped off the grenade's firing pin before shoving it into the Tyrant's mouth, the safety lever falling off. He sprinted away. With a final eruption, the Tyrant jerked before falling into stillness again.


	20. So Long and Thanks for the Ammo

Daniel leaned back against a tree and slid down as he took deep breaths, the adrenaline dying away and leaving him an aching, tired body in return. _It's over...I think. Still no sign of Marcus or his leeches._ He scanned the rest of the team, resisting the urge to get everyone moving again. Like him, everyone else was taking a moment to catch their breath or grab ahold of their wits. Jessica studied the Tyrant as she nudged it with her foot. The couple were at the edge of the clearing, keeping as much space between them and the (hopefully) dead Tyrant. Tim had an arm around Katelyn and was whispering into her ear. Enrico's attention was divided between checking on Rebecca's eye and keeping an eye on Billy. The convict waited patiently off to the side, seemingly oblivious to Enrico's scrutiny.

Bruce stood next to Kevin, gesturing at the teenager's handgun. Daniel figured out the subject when Bruce pulled out the magazine and tossed it away. _He's out of ammo._ To Bruce's, and Daniel's, apprehension, Kevin shook his head. "I'm on my last clip."

Bruce glanced hopefully at Daniel. Daniel waved him over as he methodically checked through his legion of pockets. In his left ankle pocket, he found two spare magazines. _How long have those been there?_ He shrugged to himself before handing over one of the clips. "This should get you to Raccoon City safely."

"Thanks," Bruce muttered before he knelt down. "Hey, did you see any clue as to how we got here?"

Guilt assaulted Daniel. He'd been so focused on just getting everyone through Marcus' Madhouse that he hadn't considered that there might've been a hint as to just what brought them here. "I'm afraid not," Daniel whispered back, the shame tinting his voice.

The taller teenager frowned but shrugged it off. "We're bound to find something eventually." He glanced at his cousin. "Might want to talk to him. He's feeling a bit down after that last fight."

Daniel followed Bruce's look. "Did he get hurt?"

The blue jacket-wearing teen shook his head. "He doesn't feel like he helped much."

"Got it. I'll go over to him now." Daniel declared as he climbed back onto his feet, using the tree to help. The couple stopped whispering when they noticed Daniel walking up to them. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Tim shot back, good-naturedly. "It didn't even get close to us."

"Thank you for buying us time to get away," Katelyn added before she glanced between the two guys. "I'm going to check on Bruce." She gave Tim's a hand a reassuring squeeze before she slipped away.

After she left, Daniel waited expectantly. Tim looked down at his rifle, his fingers drumming on the buttstock. "I, uh, I don't think I was much help," he admitted.

"It's alright; it's my fault," Daniel admitted as he slung his rifle over his back. "I had two weeks to train with this. I didn't even give you a crash course. Let's go ahead and give you one right now. Could be a dangerous walk to Raccoon City."

Tim looked back up at him, surprise written on his face. "We're all going back?"

"Well...not all of us," Daniel lightly corrected as he scanned the survivors. "I think some of us have had enough 'fun' to last the week."

"You're going to send me back with Katelyn, aren't you?" Tim predicted, a note of disappointment evident in his voice.

"Tim," Daniel began as he lowered his volume to a whisper. "I've lost two battle buddies tonight. I know you and Katelyn have seen the movies, but that's not going to help out here. I'm not losing anymore friends out here. I want you to lead Katelyn, Bruce, and Kevin back to the city. Like Enrico said, you need to go get Alpha team out here. After that, I want you three to go with Kevin to the hospital and stay there. We're in a different universe, and I don't know what the rules are. There might be another Daniel living in Tennessee, your Tim might've disappeared when you appeared here. Or, worst case, there's never been a Daniel Sims in this universe. Just try to stay at the hospital and away from the authorities until we get back. Okay? And whatever you do, stay away from Wesker. Don't spend a minute longer than you have to with him."

"I don't remember a Wesker in the movies," Tim replied, puzzled.

"He's easily the most dangerous man in the game series. Stay away from him." His instructions given, Daniel turned his attention back on the rifles. "Alright, now aim at that tree."

Tim nodded before following through. Daniel studied his friend's stance for a moment before he reached and shifted the rifle's buttstock. "Keep it against your shoulder. It'll keep your shooting more stable, and you won't wear out your arm that way. Next..."

Rebecca glanced over at the impromptu training session before she regarded her Captain again. "And that's what's happened so far, sir."

Enrico was silent as he absorbed all of the information she presented to him. His attention shifted to the remaining US soldier. "He said they were on their way to a family day event with their unit?"

Rebecca nodded. "Yes, sir." _...if he is...who I think he might be...then this entire night could be considered a family reunion of sorts._ She felt overwhelmed by the possible irony. Not to mention her head hurt from thinking of all of those possible time travel scenarios that had been buzzing around her mind ever since Daniel explained what his parents were like. "What do you think, sir?"

"I'm not aware of a transportation unit stationed at Donnell," Enrico answered as he looked back at Rebecca. "But I'm not too aware of what the unit roster is on base. His friends all speak with a Southern accent, except him. Jessica, in particular, has a very thick accent. I'm curious to why that is."

 _I can't believe I didn't catch that,_ Rebecca chided herself. "What should we do, sir?"

Enrico glanced over at the dead giant. "I think it's a given that they're friendlies. As strange as their circumstances are, Umbrella's illegal research into biological weapons takes top priority. For now, we'll continue with my plan: get them safely back to Raccoon City, while I and the rest of STARS move out to the research labs. Once we're finished with Umbrella, we'll investigate their story."

"Yes, sir." She paused before she reluctantly asked her next question. "Are you still going to order me to take them back?"

"Can you see out of your right eye, Rebecca?" Enrico softly asked.

 _No,_ she thought miserably. Her eye was swollen to the point where it was stuck shut. _If only I had some ice._

Tim's training was cut off when Enrico called out, "Everyone, gather around me."

Daniel stepped back from his friend before he remembered something. "Do you have a spare clip for my rifle? I ran out of spare ammo fighting the Tyrant."

"Yeah, but just the one," Tim replied before handing it over.

 _So, I have sixty rounds for a bunch of zombies, Z-creatures, another Tyrant, Yawn, giant spiders, crimson heads, Plant 42, and Lisa....no more going all-out, if I want any bullets left by the end,_ Daniel thought sourly as he pocketed the last clip.

Officer Marini pointed directly behind Jessica after everyone was around him. "Raccoon City is straight that way. Still the same plan as before. Rebecca, you're leading them out of the forest and directly to RPD. Contact Captain Wesker and have him bring Alpha team to these coordinates." The mustached man dug into one of his pockets and produced a piece of notebook paper. "Here are the coordinates. As soon as you've delivered the message and ensured that Mr. Coen has been incarcerated, proceed to the Raccoon City hospital. It's important that Kevin receives follow-up medical care and that Private Sims's health is assessed." His eyes scanned over the group before finishing on Jessica.

The cowgirl had a retort ready. But as she gathered her breath for the oncoming storm of words, she caught sight of Daniel behind Enrico. He shook his head before winking at her. She glared at Enrico for a moment. _Fine, I'll play nice._ She threw up her arms in the air before she slid her cowboy hat down her forehead so that she couldn't see the STARS captain. "There ain't no reasonin' wit' ya."

Rebecca wanted to argue against Enrico's decision. Yet, when she saw the quick exchange between Daniel and Jessica, she also surrendered. "I understand, sir."

Enrico nodded before he eyed Billy. "Before I leave, you will disarm." Billy didn't hesitate as he handed over his machine gun and his spare clips over, the weapon and ammo making its way to Daniel. "Thank you for cooperating."

 _Thank you for believing that was my only weapon,_ Billy silently retorted as he mentally pictured where his knife was.

With nothing left to do, Enrico addressed his squad mate. "Be safe, Rebecca." After his last encouragement, he marched into the forest, taking him on a perpendicular route to the Raccoon City path.

Jessica waited for Enrico to leave hearing distance before she addressed the last soldier. "How long should we wait?"

"Give it another five minutes," Daniel advised as he stepped next to Tim.

"We have our orders," Kevin protested as he frowned at the pair of them.

"I'm not under his command," Daniel casually countered.

"And ya can bet your ass that I'm not goin' to miss out on some more fun," Jessica added with a grin.

"We don't even know if this other Umbrella facility is filled with monsters," The pilot argued back.

"The other site is the main labs," Rebecca pointed out. "There's a high chance that the infection either originated from there or that the infection has made its way there by now. Either way, it's too large of a risk to simply let the Captain go alone, and it'll take us too long to reach Alpha team." She turned to Daniel before pressing the coordinates into his hand. "Still, sooner is better."

Jessica raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Becky, he's coming with us too."

The medic shook her head. "No, Daniel needs to take over and get everyone else back safely. If you've been infected then you need to be at the hospital."

 _I almost regret skipping all of those other places. We've missed so many files that she doesn't know that there is no hope if I'm actually infected. And now she'll never know the truth about Marcus. ...almost regret it._ "If I am not infected? Do you really want to go to this other facility without my firepower and expertise?"

She hesitated. Judging by just how excited Jessica was, it was practically a guarantee that there was another outbreak to deal with at the Umbrella labs. Furthermore, if Daniel was really who she thought he might be, then his help would be key. Still, she couldn't help but notice his arm, remember how the crazed baboon had mauled him. Even with all of his advantages, he was still human. _And if he's really my son, doesn't that mean I'm destined to survive all of this? I mean, I have to be alive to have him, don't I? Regardless, so long as the Captain is with me and we find the others, we should be able to survive without Daniel's help._ "I'm sure. You're wounded and need to get to a doctor ASAP."

Jessica rolled her eyes. _As if Sims'd stay behind. I wonder how long this gonna take._ The cowgirl noticed the other expectant looks on the other teenagers before she returned to watching the oncoming show. Daniel watched Rebecca for a bit as he mulled something over. _Pickin' the fastest argument, I hope._

Daniel sighed. "Fine."

"What?!" Jessica unintentionally shouted.

"What?" Rebecca replied disbelievingly.

Despite being surrounded by a dark forest infested with monsters, Daniel couldn't stop a smile from breaking out as he saw their reactions. Even his other friends were confused. "You heard me."

"W-well, okay then," Rebecca quickly threw in, trying to capitalize on her easy success. _A bit too easy, but I'll take it._

 _What game is he playing?_ Jessica wondered. _He's comin'. I know that. So, why lie? Is he gonna follow us in secret, like what we're doin' with Enrico? What's the point? He can't stay hidden forever. Is he just doin' this just to make Becky happy? Sims, points for trying to score points with her, but if ya show up later, she's just gonna be pissed off at ya._ "I just don't git it," She mumbled to herself.

"Better hurry before you lose track of him," Daniel warned them as he pointed toward Enrico's trail.

"Right," Rebecca said before she took a step that way. She stopped and looked at him and the others. "Be careful."

Jessica reluctantly followed after her, while shooting Daniel more strange looks. "...see ya in a bit...I guess." She walked behind the remaining STARS member and tried a little longer to figure out her friend's strange behavior. After a couple of minutes, the irritation finally convinced her to give up. She looked over at Rebecca and immediately declared, "We should switch."

The medic glanced over her shoulder at the cowgirl in confusion. "Switch?"

"Guns. Here," Jessica said as she held out her shotgun. "Ya don't need your shooting eye to aim wit' this thing. This way, ya can still fight."

Rebecca stared at her new partner with her one good eye. _There has to be a catch...right?_ But if there was one, she didn't see it. Jessica didn't gloat or anything as Rebecca handed over her machine gun. "...thank you."

"No problem. Don't want to leave ya unprotected against the legions of dead, now do we?" Jessica said with a grin. "Besides, now with all of these bullets, I'm gonna make out like a bandit when this is all over."

_There's the catch!_

City Party

"Later," Daniel responded with a small wave of his hand before the pair disappeared into the woods. He turned to everyone else, all of whom were watching with expressions ranging from expectation to curiosity. "We need to get moving. Tim, take the lead for a moment."

"Ooookay," Tim answered, unsure of what his friend was planning.

"Billy, stay." The Private ordered as he took off his glasses to clean them off with his shirt.

"Hold it," Kevin protested as he eyed Daniel suspiciously. "What are you doing?"

"I need to verify something," Daniel replied politely, taking a moment to see through his scratched lens. "Something with him." He jabbed a finger at the fugitive, who was as perplexed as everyone else. "Go on, we'll catch up in a bit."

"Our orders are to escort him straight to RPD," Kevin contested as he scowled at the young blond.

"This is a security and a health issue. He's not moving, until I verify the situation," Daniel shot back, not surrendering an inch. He put his glasses back on.

"I may not be a STARS officer, but I'm still with law enforcement," Kevin reminded Daniel. _Why does everyone insist on ignoring me?_

"And I'm a United States soldier. This is a matter of national security, in which case, I have superiority. I'm ordering you to move on while I confirm the situation, and that's all I'm saying." The harsh words didn't sit well with Daniel. _But I can't let it happen._

Kevin turned to the others for support, and saw that he was alone in the matter. He glared at Daniel. "If you lose him, you'll have to pay the consequences."

"Duly noted."

The pilot growled before he finally stomped away, the other teens falling in behind him. Daniel sighed, and hoped Kevin would understand one day why he was about to do what he was about to do.

"So, kid, what's this all about?" Billy asked as he studied him.

"You hid it pretty well," Daniel said casually as he took off Billy's old machine gun from his shoulder.

"I did?"

"Yeah. But I've read the files." The soldier placed the weapon on the ground before taking out the spare magazines for it. "Some infected suffer from a terrible itch from right around the bite area. And, when you thought no one's looking, I've noticed you scratching the back of your right leg. Makes sense really. Back in that train hallway, there were leeches everywhere. It would be a little over-optimistic to expect all of us to escape without being bitten."

Billy almost felt the urge to scratch his bite-free leg anyway. _He can't be serious...can he?_

"I figure, from what I've read, you got about a couple of days before the T-virus runs its course," Daniel stated matter-of-factly as he stepped back from where he placed Billy's weapon. "It shouldn't surprise anyone that you'd try to escape the moment you could. Taking an advantage of a poor soldier's compassion, who was only trying to reassure you that a cure can't be too far away. But no, you just had to punch him in the stomach, leave him to crumble to the ground, taking a moment to take your gun back, before running off into the forest, never to be seen again."

With every word, and lie... _No, he's not lying now. He's making up a story. A story he wants me to play out._ The marine stared at the soldier, uncomprehendingly. Finally, he simply asked, "Why?"

"Why? Because I know the truth. I know you're innocent of your charges," Daniel explained as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

 _He knows? How could he..._ Billy paused before he knelt down and picked up the machine gun and the magazines. When he stood up, he gave up against his internal struggle and threw out the question that was burning in his mind. "Are you...from the future?"

"Welllll...." _How do you explain to a person he's a video character in your reality?_ "...I think I'll leave that a mystery."

Billy nodded, not sure if he really did want to know. "Fair enough." He placed a hand on Daniel's shoulder and nodded to the younger man. "Thanks...Sims." After a moment of hesitation, Billy's left hand curled into a fist before firing straight at Daniel's gut.

Daniel felt like all the air had been sucked out of him as he fell onto his knees, the pain exploding throughout his torso. _ARRGGGHHH! Did he have to make it **that** convincing!? What idiot thought up this plan? _

_Well, it seemed like a good idea when we first said it._

_I mean, that's how they do it in the movies._

_The movies suck!_

Billy did an about-face before marching into the forest. "Not sure if God cares for what I think, but I'll be praying for you. Stay safe."

Daniel imagined himself throwing back a witty one-liner, or perhaps a touching last good-bye for one of Resident Evil's most elusive heroes. But all that came out of his mouth was "Hglarrgkklaah." Half-a-minute after Billy departed, Daniel stumbled back onto his feet before he shambled after the others, one hand clutching his aching stomach. _Take deep, slow breaths._ It didn't take long until he found them. They were walking so slow, a turtle could've passed them.

Kevin took one look and Daniel could almost hear the 'boom' as the pilot's fury blasted out of his eyes. Before a word could charge out of his mouth, Daniel grabbed the initiative. "He's infected. He has two days at most before he succumbs, and he's running directly away from the city. Odds are, nobody will ever see him again." Daniel forced himself to drop his arm and stand up straight. "And I've changed my mind. I'm heading after the others."

"How do you expect to find them!?" Kevin roared at him, channeling his anger. "We're a distance away from the start point, and there's no major landmark to use here!"

After all of his training at Basic, Daniel knew, with an accurate map, protractor, and compass, he could find the Spencer Mansion easily. _Now, if only I had any of those things. Wait, I still have the map, but that's worthless without the-_

Daniel's thoughts jumbled together as a real explosion shook the forest. Everyone looked in the direction came from, and saw a fireball briefly flying out from where the training facility was. _What the - ?! Too soon, it's too soon! Did Birkin set the timer earlier because of us? Wait, if the explosion could happen before dawn here, doesn't that mean it can happen earlier at the Spencer Mansion too?_ A sudden image of Jill, Chris, and Rebecca caught in a blast of debris and fire popped into his head. _...I hate this. It feels like all I've done is simply remove the guarantees of what will happen, including the 'heroes win' endings. It's all up in the air now._ "That's my cue." He looked back at the others. Kevin was too surprised to argue now as he watched the flames light up their portion of the forest. Daniel looked at Tim before handing him the coordinates to the Spencer Mansion. "Get to Raccoon City. Take every precaution you have to. If all goes to plan, I'll see you tomorrow night."

**To Be Continued...**


End file.
